


Lifestyle "Adjustments"

by gigglemayhem



Series: All for a Smile [3]
Category: 2PM, Beast (Band), Big Bang (Band), Dong Bang Shin Ki, JYJ - Fandom, MBLAQ, SHINee, SS501, Super Junior, U-KISS
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-02
Updated: 2012-05-01
Packaged: 2017-11-02 21:58:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 29,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/373777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gigglemayhem/pseuds/gigglemayhem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All of the original cast members for PD Na's version of "We Got Married" have decided to stay on with the show. What they don't know yet is that Na has a few more ideas up his sleeve that will force cast members to grow up a little bit more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pains in the... Back

By the time Yunho and Junsu met again to film the next episode, news of their pairing was well-known, and a couple of the other couples including Onew and Yesung, and Kevin and Hyung Joon had been found out as well. Super Junior had done a superb job of shepherding public opinion in favor of letting WGM have a gay theme, and the opinion was tentatively optimistic in terms of Yunho and Junsu getting together. Sure, there were a lot of fans screaming that Hosu never belonged together, that it was Yunjae and Yoosu or not at all. But... if it meant DBSK and JYJ at least being allowed to interact again, the fans seemed content. It was up to Yunho and Junsu (and the WGM editing team, of course) to make the public love them.  
  
This would be a fairly easy task, Junsu thought, if only he didn’t have to think of what Jaejoong must be thinking during this time. Junsu did not enjoy being around him, now that Jaejoong knew what was going on, knowing full well that he still was head-over-heels in love with Yunho. On the evening after that video conference call, Jaejoong cried himself to sleep with Yoochun comforting him, and Junsu was unable to sleep much of that night. Yoochun came to him at some point early in the morning to talk.  
  
“So. Yunho?” he asked.  
  
“Yeah,” Junsu responded tiredly.  
  
“... Do you still have a thing for him?”  
  
“...”  
  
“I’m not jealous or anything. I’m just asking as a friend who will do his best to support both you and Jaejoong simultaneously, even if you both want the same man.”  
  
Junsu sighed. “Yeah, I like him. But Jaejoong-hyung’s got priority. Yunho-hyung... I don’t know what his feelings are, and I didn’t ask. I just thought I’d give them time to figure it out between them first before seeing if I have a chance.”  
  
“I spoke with Yunho shortly after you and Jaejoong did. He seemed to be confident about his relationship with Jaejoong being over. It’s over for Yunho anyway.” Yoochun peered over, concerned. “Knowing you, you’ll fall deeper and deeper for him the longer you’re ‘married’ to him. What if he doesn’t want you, in the end? What if he does decide that giving up Jaejoong was a mistake? Will you be fine?”  
  
Junsu swallowed heavily before answering, “I’ll be... fine. If he’s not meant to be mine, then he’s not meant to be mine.” Not even Yoochun believed this lie Junsu was telling, but he was kind enough not to comment. “I’m more scared of the unlikely idea of him choosing me over Jaejoong-hyung. What would hyung do if that happened?”  
  
Yoochun pondered this for a while. “You’re right. Either way, there’s going to be a strain within our group.”  
  
There was silence. Junsu asked, “What should I do?” before he realized that Yoochun had come very close to falling sleep. His eyes snapped awake in a strained attempt to stay awake for his friend and ex-lover. “Oops. Sorry.”  
  
“S’okay. My only advice to you is to act how you did with me.” Yoochun turned his head and smiled at Junsu. “Go all out loving him. Fuck the consequences. Give it your all. And if Jaejoong can’t hold on to him, then it’s fair game. I’ve always appreciated that you never gave up on me, not until all was said and done. So now, don’t you dare give up on Yunho unless the love is gone. If the love is gone, then there’s no reason to pursue it anymore.”  
  
Yoochun let out a huge huff of air as he got up and left the room to go to his bedroom. Junsu finally went to sleep.  
  
Even with the “fuck all” advice, Junsu still found himself obsessing over how to keep Jaejoong appeased and let the fans have some long-awaited fan-service.  
  
Which is why he was at a bus stop with a raging headache and feeling like he was going to be sick on filming day. He wished that he could have at least travelled to the meeting place without cameras present, but Yunho had insisted on picking him up himself, so the camera crew set up early for them.  
  
A warm hand pressed itself to Junsu’s forehead. His head jerked to the side and he saw that Yunho had just arrived. Junsu sighed. He should have known that his years of training his face and body language to lie about illness would have no effect on the man who was well-attuned to the deceptions of him and his friends.  
  
“It’s just a slight headache,” Junsu muttered.  
  
“And?” Yunho prompted.  
  
Junsu fidgeted. “I’m so nervous I could puke,” he honestly admitted. “Geez hyung, can’t you just trust that you know everything without me telling you? Can’t you at least let me save face in front of the camera?”  
  
“Aigoo,” Yunho mock-pouted and smirked at the same time, “And what kind of husband would I be if I didn’t worry over my _wifey’s_ health?”  
  
Junsu’s eyes widened and he turned a glare toward his ‘husband’. “Yah!” he shouted in the older man’s face. “Who says I’m the wife?! Huh?!”  
  
Yunho chuckled. “Of course the screeching, nagging one is the wife.” Junsu was about to retort to that, but closed his mouth instead so he wouldn’t prove Yunho right. Yunho’s eyes narrowed and he sauntered over. He leaned in and whispered in Junsu’s ear just loud enough for the camera microphones to hear, “... _And_ you have the bigger behind.” And with that, Yunho grabbed said behind and squeezed hard.  
  
Junsu gasped audibly, and his expression was sure to make the audience laugh at it’s comical rage. He was frozen in that position for only a few seconds before his rage surfaced and took control. “Yah! Jung Yunho!” he screeched, chasing after his fleeing... husband. Yunho kept out of reach, chuckling in an increasingly maddening fashion. “Let me save face you bastard! What will the fans think?” he shouted out at the older man.  
  
Yunho laughed. “The fans will love it! They’ll love the bickerings of husband Jung Yunho and his little wife, ‘ _Jung_ ’ Junsu!”  
  
Junsu let out a snarl as he lunged toward Yunho, missing yet again. Continuing the chase, he shouted, “Who says I’ll take on your name? Huh?! Yah! If you don’t stop right this instant, I’ll kill you for embarrassing me!”  
  
He suddenly found himself running into the older man’s chest, since Yunho had stopped, turned around, and walked directly to him. Junsu bounced back, but Yunho maintained the closeness. The close proximity and the fact that both men were out of breath did not help to deter the fantasies that were suddenly popping into Junsu’s head. Trying to find a suitable response to... everything, all Junsu could come up with was, “ _What the hell?_ ”  
  
Yunho turned his face to Junsu’s and looked down his nose slightly at his dongsaeng. “Didn’t you say you’d kill me if I didn’t stop?” he breathed, further aggravating the visions. Junsu shuddered a bit, and immediately hoped the cameras hadn’t picked it up. He narrowed his eyes at his hyung and said in a low growl, “I’ll kill you anyway. Sometime when there are less witnesses, though.”  
  
Yunho just smiled sweetly and obnoxiously murmured a, “No you won’t,” and kissed the younger man’s forehead. Junsu’s eyebrows shot up. In his mind, he could just imagine the editors putting this and other scenes into slow motion with romantic music and frilly graphics to add to the cheesiness.  
  
Junsu understood that this was good for fan-service, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed about the ‘staged’ quality everything was having.  
  
Once he got over the shock of being kissed, he pursed his lips and ground his teeth. His heart wasn’t in the anger, though, when he replied with a muttered, “I hate you.”  
  
“Hmmm, I love you too, _wifey_ ,” Yunho brightly responded. He threw his arm around Junsu’s shoulders and swung him around to walk toward a parking garage nearby.  
  
“Geez, hyung, when did you become so cheeky?”  
  
“And when did you become so shrill?”  
  
“...Touche.”  
  
They got into Yunho’s car where the cameras had already been placed within, and the men drove off toward the cafe, where they were to meet up once more with PD Na and the other participants.  
  
Yunho reached into the back seat and pulled a box out. He handed it to Junsu, who looked at it suspiciously. “Open it,” he indicated, and Junsu delicately peeled open the top, peering cautiously within. He let out a happy gasp, clapped his hands cutely, and smiled. The younger man pulled out a slice of kimbap and shoved it into his mouth.  
  
“I’m sorry it’s not like Jaejoong’s,” Yunho mentioned apologetically.  
  
Junsu chewed on the kimbap with deliberate slowness. “You’re right, it isn’t,” he said, peering sideways to see Yunho’s face fall a bit. He pondered whether to tell Yunho now or leave it as a comment in the backstage scenes for Yunho to discover weeks later when it aired.  
  
He decided he wasn’t that evil.  
  
“It’s _better_ than Jaejoong-hyung’s,” he chirped, stuffing another one into his mouth. He wiped the smile off of Yunho’s face by shoving a piece into his face, forcing him to eat his own handiwork. Yunho still looked happy, though.  
  
“I’m not letting you call me your ‘wifey’, though,” Junsu said, voice muffled through the food in his mouth. “You’re going to have to come up with a better bribe if you want to call me that.”  
  
“Hmmm,” was all Yunho said.  
  
Happy with Yunho’s silence, Junsu relaxed into his seat and savored the simple, bland-yet-delicious kimbap that was made especially for him. With a start he realized that his headache had eased up considerably, and his trepidation had been chased away by Yunho’s antics.  
  
 _He’s so sweet and so evil at the same time_ , Junsu thought fondly as they pulled in to the cafe parking lot. Then he frowned. _Changmin’s had a bad influence on him, for sure_ , he concluded.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
 _Later that evening, when filming was finished:_  
  
Junsu stumbled in to JYJ’s dorm late at night. He winced as his feet throbbed in pain when they came free of his shoes. He gingerly put on plastic slippers that were reserved for the group when they had open blisters and didn’t want to dirty the floor.  
  
Jaejoong whipped around the corner, arms crossed. His expression became livid when he saw how Junsu was easing his way around the room.  
  
“What did you two _do_?” he growled. When Junsu grunted noncommittally, he grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around, making the younger man wince in pain some more. “ _What did you do?!_ ” he yelled.  
  
“We didn’t have _sex_ if that’s what you’re wondering!” Junsu yelled back. He shrugged away from Jaejoong’s hand and held his back, “I’ve just been lifting a lot of heavy weights today, that’s all.” He hadn’t been in the mood to talk about any of this before now, and with Jaejoong acting like a jealous ex, he really didn’t want to talk at all.  
  
He limped toward the shower after Jaejoong stormed off and slammed the door of his bedroom. He took a nice long shower which helped ease his back pain and open blisters. A knock sounded on the door when he had finished putting on his pajamas.  
  
It was Yoochun. “Ugh, where were you when I needed you half an hour ago?” Junsu whined stumbling forward and leaning on his friend for a hug. “Jae-hyung’s being a jealous bastard.”  
  
“Sorry, I just got back from an errand,” Yoochun apologized. “I would have come back sooner if I could. I got a text an hour ago from Yunho-hyung. He asked me to give you a back and foot massage when you got home, because he hadn’t had the time to do it earlier. What happened? Why are you like this?”  
  
“I’m like this because the director’s so cruel,” Junsu moaned. His sounds of fatigue became sounds of happiness when Yoochun began to dig his fingers into the tense spots in his back.  
  
Yoochun stopped abruptly shortly after he had began. “Come to the living room, and I’ll give you a proper back massage on the floor,” he explained. Then he looked at Jaejoong’s closed door. “Shall we invite _him_ in on the conversation?” he offered.  
  
Junsu sighed and nodded grudgingly. He padded over to the living room and lay down in the middle of the floor as Yoochun knocked on Jaejoong’s door and spoke gently with their leader. After a while, Jaejoong walked in sullenly, wearing his hamtaro pajamas. He flopped onto the sofa nearby and pointedly didn’t look at anyone. Yoochun came over to Junsu’s prone figure, cracked his knuckles, and settled down next to him to begin his back massage.  
  
“So, what happened today?” Yoochun asked again, easing a knot out of Junsu’s lower back.  
  
Junsu turned his head away so he wasn’t looking in Jaejoong’s direction. Something gave him the feeling that Jaejoong would like what he would hear even less than he liked the idea of Junsu possibly having sex with his ex someday.  
  
He told the events from earlier in the day slowly and carefully, starting with the meeting with the others at the cafe...


	2. The "Adjustments"

There was a nervous energy coming from all of the cast members. A few had decided to pick up their partners, since the first afternoon together hadn’t been enough time for them to become comfortable with each other. Others had relied on their managers that morning, and were still yawning away their sleepiness in their chairs.  
  
“Today, you will be assigned lifestyle adjustments, which you will live by for as long as you choose to film with us,” began PD Na when everyone had gotten settled at the cafe, sipping large cups of coffee or tea. He gestured to the table in the middle of the room, on which had two rows of mission envelopes lined up by number. “They are within these envelopes, and you will each take turns to choose which ones you get through a game of rock-paper-scissors. Some lifestyles will more strongly affect one partner more than the other, and who that person will be will be determined by another round of rock-paper-scissors among themselves. Please choose which partner will choose the cards.”  
  
The first round of the game began, and Alex won. “Is one better than the other?” he asked Na as he sauntered up to the table, arms crossed. Na shrugged, and Alex deliberated a bit before grabbing number four from the first row and taking the same number from the second.  
  
Daesung won the second round and cautiously picked numbers seven and one, looking to Seunggi to confirm that it was okay to take those. Seunggi just smiled and shrugged, not caring either way. Yunho won the third round, picking numbers two and five. The game continued, and soon everyone had their mission cards.  
  
“First, take out the card you chose from the second row and hold them up so I can see them,” Na instructed once everyone was back in their seat. He took note of each card and couple. “These will be where you will be staying when you are on the show. The Sunshine and Joonvin couples, for example,” he indicated the two cards with “MBC tower” written on them, “will be living in an already furnished rooftop home on top of Seoul’s MBC broadcasting station.” Everyone ‘ _ooh_ ’ed and ‘ _aah_ ’ed, knowing that the rare rooftop homes on buildings tended to be lovely.  
  
“Daesung, Seunggi, Taecyeon, and Yoseob will be in an apartment complex nearby, with varying degrees of funding toward daily living and furnishings as indicated on your cards.” Daesung and Seunggi frowned at their card, which listed a much smaller amount of money than Taecyeon and Yoseob’s.  
  
“Onew and Yesung: you two have to find your own place to live and will have to pay for it yourselves.” Yesung looked put out, but Onew looked deep in thought.  
  
“G.O., Juri, Alex, and TOP will have their own individual homes in the suburbs of Seoul, and we will give you no funds for daily living, furnishings, etc.”  
  
“Wait a minute,” Daesung interjected. “Didn’t Alex-sshi have a home in the suburbs the last time he was on this show?”  
  
“Hey, he just got lucky when he chose the card,” Na replied.  
  
“ _Did_ he now,” Seunggi said, obviously suspecting foul-play. He walked over to where Na was sitting and looked at the clipboard that he had his notes written down on.  
  
“See? It was all predetermined like this and he was lucky,” Na insisted, pointing.  
  
“Don’t worry, Daesung-ah,” TOP said, patting his dongsaeng on the shoulder. “You can come over and play whenever you want.” He looked to Alex for confirmation.  
  
Alex nodded. “Sure, but don’t you kids stay up too late playing, okay?” he teased.  
  
Seunggi gasped and pointed lower on the page he was looking at. “Hyung, what’s _this_?” he asked, scandalized.  
  
Na whipped away the clipboard and shooed him away. Seunggi rushed back to Daesung and looked at his cards once more. He sighed in apparent relief at what he saw.  
  
“And now, for the first row cards...” Na said, with a slightly maniacal grin. Everyone’s insides shrivelled a bit.  
  
The first row was just numbers, and no words. Na began with number one, “Yesung and Onew,” he started, both men looking at him in rapt attention. Onew was chewing nervously on his lower lip. Na’s grin grew wider, “Congratulations.” He stood up and walked to one of the conference rooms and opened the door. A mother and her three-year-old daughter walked out. The mother handed the girl’s hand to Na, and she waddled behind, fingers in her mouth. He stood in the center of the room and turned her to the first couple, “You are now the proud parents of our sweet Lily.”  
  
Both men stared at the girl dumbly. Everyone watched them to see what they would do. Yesung eventually crouched down and beckoned to her.  
  
She didn’t react or do anything. Yesung looked momentarily confused, then walked forward in his crouching position to touch her waist. She didn’t look at him, but stared through him. “ _Oh_ ,” he said, realization dawning in his expression.  
  
Na crouched down, extracted her hand from his, and handed it over to Yesung. “She was born blind,” he explained to the new parents. “Take good care of her accordingly.”  
  
The other couples observed and waited patiently for Yesung and Onew to introduce themselves to Lily and gain her trust enough to hold her. When she was happily curled up on Yesung’s lap and holding on to Onew’s fingers, Na continued with the lifestyle assignments.  
  
“Yunho and Junsu,” he looked over to a man standing near another conference room and nodded. The man disappeared into the room. Na looked at the couple. “You’re going to have to play another round to see who will have to perform the task. The winner will be exempt.” The two held out their fists, Junsu more hesitant than Yunho. And for good reason, since he lost. He turned, scared, toward the conference room where Na indicated he go.  
  
As soon as the door closed after him, he screamed, and it was heard throughout the cafe. The other couples fidgeted nervously in their seats. Onew patted soothingly at Lily who had gotten scared by Junsu’s outburst, and Yesung rocked her gently. Yunho stepped toward the room and peered through the window. He let out a loud bellow of laughter, to which Junsu responded with a “Shut up, Hyung!” Na just smiled.  
  
A few minutes later, everyone got to see the cause of Junsu’s discomfort. The young man stepped out, wearing a large shirt over a pregnancy suit. Yunho sniggered as the younger man sat down gingerly, and muttered “I _told_ you that you were the woman in this relationship.” Junsu elbowed him sharply.  
  
“Congratulations!” Na said again when they settled down. “You are...” -- he checked his notes -- “five months pregnant, and you can expect a baby in about four months. Until the time of birth, you will have to wear that pregnancy suit while filming. The suit will get larger and heavier as time progresses.” Junsu shuddered in fear of the impending difficulties.  
  
“If you should have an accident of some sort during or outside of filming, however, you may end up having a miscarriage,” Na warned. Junsu gulped, truly scared now. “So take good care of yourself, okay? And _you!_ ” Na sent a small glare in Yunho’s direction, snapping him to attention, “You take good care of him!” Yunho nodded gravely.  
  
Stern expression gone as soon as it came, Na moved on with a smile. “Who’s got number three?”  
  
Taecyeon and Yoseob held up their number silently. They glanced at each other with trepidation, then looked over at the first two couples. Yunho was poking a pouting Junsu in his pregnant stomach. Yesung and Onew were no longer paying much attention to anyone else, and were tickling the little girl. She smiled cutely and cuddled in closer to Yesung. Taecyeon and Yoseob’s expressions softened as a result of the sweet scene, but neither were any less nervous.  
  
“You have three months, then I will make the decision for you,” Na stated. Thoroughly confused, Taecyeon and Yoseob leaned in, listening intently. “One of you will become ‘pregnant’, or you will have a surrogate mother bear the child for you. That will be your choice,” -- both men winced -- “but during the next three months you will be free from such an obligation. You may conceive now if you want to; that’s your choice. After three months, if you haven’t conceived already, I will roll these dice,” -- Na held up two six-sided dice -- “If the result adds up to ten or higher, the pregnancy happens. If not, then I wait another three months to roll the dice again, and so on.”  
  
“ _Someone_ has been the game master in a few too many Dungeons and Dragons sessions, it seems,” Alex muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear. Na smirked slyly at him before he continued.  
  
“Any of you can decide at any time to conceive,” he said, directing his comments to all of the couples. “The way you do it on the show is not through-,” Na paused, glancing over at the little girl. He indicated to Yesung to cover her ears, which caused a bit of laughter from everyone. “It’s not through the ordinary means that a man and woman conceive. On this show, a kiss counts as the equivalent of that. So in other words,” he directed his attention back to Taecyeon and Yoseob, “if you decide to conceive within the next three months, you will need to kiss each other. I will roll the dice, and if it is ten or higher, then you were successful.”  
  
Na paused to let the information sink in. Yesung was the first to speak up, “So, if we wanted another one of _these_ ,” he poked Lily’s cheek, and she flailed cutely, “Jinki-sshi and I would have to kiss each other?” Onew’s head snapped up and he mock-glared at Yesung.  
  
“Yep!” Na chirped happily.  
  
“If we do, just know it won’t be _me_ carrying the baby,” Onew told Yesung in a sweet tone of voice for Lily’s sake, but with an evil look on his face.  
  
“The pregnancy experience doesn’t have to be for everyone, though. Only Junsu is required to do it. If anyone wants to have a surrogate mother bear their child, then we can work that out. I have a few female idols who are willing to participate in this capacity, if you’re interested. However, if G.O. and Juri decide to have a child, then I will have to insist that Juri go through the pregnancy experience, because she is a woman,” Na informed.  
  
When no one had any pressing questions, he moved on. “And now, for numbers four and five!” Na turned to Alex, TOP, Kevin, and Hyung Joon. Alex looked a bit eager, probably hoping for a child like the other couples. Hyung Joon looked over at the other couple, concerned about sharing a similar fate. “Two of you are transvestites!”  
  
Lily piped up, “What are transvestites?”  
  
Yesung belatedly covered Lily’s ears again. She pulled at his hands, becoming frustrated.  
  
Alex looked over at TOP. “Uuuhmmm,” he said, crossing his arms and assessing his partner critically. TOP narrowed his eyes at the older man. Alex continued, “TOP’s wearing eyeliner and clothes that could be feminine if a girl were wearing them. Is that transvestite enough?”  
  
Na’s eyes moved slowly up and down TOP’s figure. He was quiet for a few moments before responding, “He would have to be more feminine than that. If he’s the one you two choose to be a transvestite, he’s allowed to look a bit manly, but he would need to wear a few more distinctly feminine articles of clothing or accessories for it to count. He needs to go a little bit beyond the bounds of androgyny, at least.”  
  
“My man looks like a woman!” Hyung Joon spoke up. Kevin snickered good-naturedly. “If women are allowed to wear manly clothing, then surely a girly-looking man wearing men’s clothing is okay, right?”  
  
“Nope. He needs to be more feminine. When you all go out to do individual couple filming, I’d suggest going shopping for clothes. I or one of the writers will accompany you and will help you decide what to wear.”  
  
“Will you provide the funds for new clothes?” Kevin asked.  
  
“No.”  
  
“Oh,” Kevin pulled out his wallet and peered into it sadly. There wasn’t much money in there.  
  
When all of that was said and done, Na turned to the last two couples. “You don’t have any missions, but there is a catch. I’ll need you two to do one more round of rock-paper-scissors, please.”  
  
Seunggi and Juri went up against each other. They had to play five times before their hands came out differently. Seunggi won with scissors to her paper.   
  
Na walked up to Seunggi and Daesung and pulled out a small white envelope that was stuffed with quite a few papers from his jacket pocket. “Congratulations, you two will go on a honeymoon to Jeju Island this afternoon for one night. All of the information for your trip are in that envelope.” Everyone else in the room looked at them jealously, making them shrink back with embarrassed smiles on their faces. Daesung gave Seunggi a high-five when he offered.  
  
“G.O. and Juri,” Na said, turning to the last couple who were still glaring at the Seungsung couple. “You two are allowed to switch fates with anyone in this room,” he instructed, causing them to grin excitedly. “... except for the couple going to Jeju,” Na concluded evilly. Juri actually snarled at him and made as if to go and strangle him, but G.O. held her back.  
  
“Not now dear, maybe later,” he told her.  
  
She ‘ _hmf_ ’ed and began to look critically around at the other couples in the room. Her eyes rested on Lily, who was now sleeping.  In spite of their obvious discomfort at being parents so soon, both Yesung and Onew protested when Juri leaned over. Yesung turned away and Onew blocked her and jokingly said, “Noona, wouldn’t you rather have the joy of giving birth to your _own_ child? A son, perhaps? Wouldn’t you be a bit jealous if your husband came to love our daughter more than you?”  
  
“He’s got a point,” G.O. admitted. She turned and glared at him. Then she stood up from her chair and walked over to the Sunshine Couple.  
  
“Take it! Please!” Junsu pleaded, reaching behind him to undo the Velcro holding the pregnancy suit on.  
  
Yunho disagreed, however. He grabbed Junsu’s hands and held them behind his back while he told Juri coldly, “Move on lady. There’s nothing to see here.”  
  
She simply walked by Taecyeon and Yoseob, muttering, “I can always have a child if I want to. All I have to do is kiss G.O.-gun.”  
  
Then she stopped in front of the Alhyun and Joonvin couples, eyeing them critically. G.O. called out from behind her and said, “No way, dear. I will _not_ wear a dress.”  
  
“You won’t have to,” she replied smirking at him. “I could dress like a man. I can finally wear a mustache again!” Juri gleefully proposed.  
  
“Since when have you ever worn a mustache?” G.O. asked laughingly.  
  
“Honestly, G.O.-gun, weren’t you there? I totally rocked that mustache on Idol Army,” she said prissily, pulling a strand of hair between her nose and her upper lip, and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at the camera.  
  
“Ah, I see. I think the real question, though, is who rocked the mustache more, you or me?” G.O. countered.  
  
“ _Hmph_. I did, of course.” Juri tossed aside the strand indignantly and went back to her seat.  
  
Yesung chose that moment to butt in and tease in his own dry-expressioned way, “I don’t know about that Juri-sshi. The hair on your upper lip right now is not all that attractive.” He reached over to attempt his trademark philtrum-touching, but G.O. was quicker.  
  
“Hands off my wife!” G.O. exclaimed, exaggerating in a childish way by slapping Yesung’s hand away. Juri began to giggle uncontrollably, especially when Yesung turned his attention to Onew and tried to touch his philtrum.  
  
“Hyung! You already attempted to cheat on me with that hand. You _dare_ to try to be romantic now?” Onew grabbed his wrist and redirected his hand’s journey into his own. Fan girls would probably notice the delight that crossed Yesung’s features because of Onew’s willingness to hold hands. There would be a lot of fanfictions based on this moment, for sure.  
  
“So, have you decided whether you will trade with anyone or not?” Na asked.  
  
G.O. and Juri looked at Lily wistfully once again. Yesung and Onew became defensive again, clutching on to the sleeping child.  
  
Juri sighed and said, “No, we will not be switching with anyone.” Then she turned to G.O. with her usual femme fatale comedic flair. “Since I don’t want to deprive any of the others of their children, I’ll just have to do this.” She took G.O.’s face in her hands and puckered her lips. He pulled his head away with his usual stony expression. Holding on to her hands to keep them from insisting, he told her, “Not now dear. Maybe later.” With that, Juri was content to remain holding his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I would like to take this opportunity to apologize about something. I am fully aware that the transgender identity and sexual orientation do not necessarily go hand-in-hand, so if anyone is offended about me forcing the two to coexist in the Alhyun and Joonvin couples: I’m sorry. I’m mostly using it to give the characters the opportunity explore whether the role of gender has or does not have anything to do with a marriage relationship.
> 
> That, and I think TOP would look hot in certain feminine clothes. And Kevin would be adorable in any feminine clothing. I’m just saying.
> 
> As for the rooftop homes generally being lovely: I don’t know that for sure. In all of the dramas that I’ve seen with rooftop homes in Seoul, they have all been lovely.


	3. Identity Crisis Part 1 (AKA, TOP Needs Help)

“Sooooo...” Alex began as they walked out of the cafe.  
  
TOP knew where this was going. Alex was going to push him to dress as a woman. And TOP wasn’t looking forward to complying.  
  
Not that he didn’t want to try on dresses. Oh no, he had no problem with that. He loved women’s clothes, and had a secret desire to wear them. He just didn’t like that it would be impossible to find any women’s clothing that would suit him. He wasn’t looking forward to spending the rest of the show looking like a freak-show, like a schoolgirl on steroids with ratty hair.  
  
TOP shuddered at the memory of Big Bang’s parody of S.E.S.’s “I Love You”. The cordi-noonas had dressed Jiyoung first. They had become overexcited on their success at creating such a cute and pretty girl, that they thought turning the rest of Big Bang into women would be a breeze. But then they tried Taeyang. He was... suitable. But too muscular. They gave up when they got to TOP. After him, they wouldn’t consider trying to dress up Daesung and Seungri.  
  
“His face is too angular. Not feminine at all!” they complained. “It’s just a parody. It’s _supposed_ to be funny. Just make him look like an ugly girl and it’ll make everyone laugh. It shouldn’t be too hard to do.”  
  
TOP understood, though. He didn’t hold a grudge against them. He even enjoyed performing the parody in the clothes he was given. Wearing a skirt proved to be a bit drafty, but it was comfortable. He just hated that he was forever-after labelled as ugly in drag, and he wouldn’t be given the opportunity in later parodies to try again. He didn’t like being limited.  
  
“Do you ever wish you could look good as a girl?” TOP asked Taeyang in a way that could be taken as a joke or seriously. Sometimes Taeyang was able to take rhetorical questions seriously, and a good talk would ensue. And TOP was in dire need of a good talk. He just needed someone to tell him that it was normal to be a guy who wanted to look good as a woman as well as a guy. Or simply to tell him he wasn’t crazy.  
  
Taeyang thought it was a joke, unfortunately. That pleasantly bewildered look that was the extent of Taeyang’s ability to express amusement blossomed on his face. “No, why?”  
  
TOP let it drop, like all jokes were supposed to drop.  
  
When they did a parody of “Beethoven Virus”, TOP perked up because it looked like he might _finally_ get a chance to try again. The actress needed to be of a tall, lanky build, and he could do it. But again they told him he was too masculine, that he was preordained to play the male lead in every single parody Big Bang would ever do. He was _supposed_ to be flattered because of this.  
  
He had never wanted to kill Seungri so much in his life, even though the maknae didn’t really want to be the girl.  
  
“Hyung! Please do it instead of me!” Seungri pleaded in the dressing room. TOP pretended to be reluctant, but inside he was excited about trying on the leotard, tutu, and stockings that were being shoved into his arms.  
  
“I’ll see what I can do,” he sighed as he stepped behind the curtain.  
  
He tried on the stockings. They ripped. He put on the leg warmers over to hide the torn parts.  
  
He put on the leotard and tutu. Or rather, he tried. His shoulders were too broad to fit comfortably.  
  
When he turned around to look in the mirror, he cringed. And he finally conceded defeat: he would never look good as a woman. _Ever_.  
  
So from then on, he tried to be content with the fact that he was an okay-looking guy and that was as good as it would ever get, never mind that all of the fan girls would think he was underrating himself on the first point.  
  
He tried not to be mad when Jiyoung pranced around and flaunted the many women’s clothes he looked good in during the “Secret Garden” parody. He remembered looking at the dresses afterward, contemplating for a moment about possibly trying them on, then giving up, disgusted with himself for being a pathetic loser who wanted to wear dresses.  
  
Which is why he was not looking forward to hopelessly trying on women’s clothes.  
  
“Would you be willing to be the transvestite in this relationship?” Alex asked TOP, a desperate look in his eyes that had nothing to do with wanting to look like a woman and being incapable of doing it. It was obvious Alex had no desire to put on a dress.  
  
“All right,” TOP conceded grimly.  
  
“Oh thank you! I mean seriously, can you imagine _me_ in a _dress_? The _horror_!” Alex exclaimed. Then he turned to TOP with a critical eye, “At least _you’d_ look good.”  
  
That stopped TOP short. “What?”  
  
“You’d look good, as a transvestite.”  
  
Alex misunderstood the resulting silence to mean that TOP was embarrassed and/or offended. “I’m not saying you don’t look good as a man! Far from it! You’re hot! As a guy, I mean...,” Alex trailed off uncomfortably. Then he added as an aside, “I just meant that you’d look good, in the unconventional sense, as a woman, you know, if you wanted to...”.  
  
TOP couldn’t believe his ears. “I don’t understand. What makes you say that?”  
  
Alex chewed on his lip thoughtfully. “There’s no way you could pass for a woman, I’ll admit that. But there are some things you could wear.... Like what you wore in IRIS! That is the most feminine that I’ve seen of you, especially with your long hair, and it wouldn’t take much more than that to satisfy Na PD-nim’s requirements, I think.”  
  
“Ah. Well, er, thanks?” TOP said, still uncertain as to how to take this opinion. He couldn’t believe Alex’s words, not really. But he did allow himself to feel a little bit flattered, since it at least seemed like Alex was sincere about his compliments.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
The happiness he felt about Alex’s comment didn’t last long. He was no longer happy after two hours of trying on clothes, and nothing had looked good on him.  
  
“Well, TOP-hyung, er, can I call you ‘hyung’?” Kevin asked from the other side of the curtain of his changing room. TOP and Alex had agreed to join with Hyung Joon and Kevin to shop for clothes, which was why he was there, too.  
  
That, and both Hyung Joon and Alex had to leave to participate in the same radio show about half an hour in to the cross-dressing fiasco. Neither Kevin nor TOP wanted to be alone in this, so they joined forces for the time being.  
  
“That’s fine,” TOP commented breathlessly, having finally gotten out of a god-awful shirt with an excess of straps.  
  
“Perhaps we should go somewhere else? This place seems to have mostly cutesy stuff, and it doesn’t really seem your style. I think perhaps you might be more suited to something... sophisticated? That’s how you seem to me, anyway. Sophisticated. And classy!” he chirped.  
  
TOP sighed and looked sadly at the mess of clothes on the floor. He thought of Alex’s gentle encouragements from early on in his endeavor, of his suggestion of the same course of action to leave and find another place. TOP felt a renewal of self-disappointment. He breathed deeply to dispel the sudden tightness in his throat, and to keep his face from heating up in anger.  
  
“Fine. Let’s do that,” he finally agreed, when he got his frustration under control.  
  
He quickly put on the clothes he had been wearing before he had entered the dressing room, and let Kevin in so he could help pick up clothes.  
  
Kevin was wearing a simple, blue, spaghetti-strapped dress with a white turtle-neck sweater on underneath to keep him warm. He hadn’t been wearing that before TOP tried on clothes.  
  
“You look cute,” TOP grudgingly commented.  
  
“Thanks,” was the unenthusiastic response. TOP looked over at the younger man, sensing he was disappointed in something.  
  
“You don’t like the dress?” he guessed.  
  
“No, no, it’s just... cheap. I didn’t have a lot of money with me, and I don’t really like borrowing any. Hyung Joon-hyung loaned me his credit card, so I tried to find something that wouldn’t be too difficult for me to pay back,” he explained. “There was another dress I really liked, so maybe I’ll come back again later when I have money.”  
  
“You _like_ wearing dresses?” TOP asked, immediately hating how judgemental his voice sounded.  
  
Kevin didn’t seem phased by the question, though. “Meh, it’s okay. It can be more comfortable than some men’s clothes, anyway.”  
  
TOP made a mental note to talk with Kevin more on this subject, because this was the closest he had ever come to having a normal conversation about this.  
  
He’d do it later, though, when there weren’t any cameras around.  
  
Eventually, a store clerk noticed them working hard to put the clothes back on the hangers. She shooed them away with a smile, telling them to let her take care of the rest. When asked, she kindly suggested some classy clothes stores for TOP to try.  
  
Again, they were met with disappointment. They ran into Junsu and Yunho when they decided to take a break. They managed to persuade Kevin and TOP to join them in the maternity clothes store to see if they could find a more acceptable top for Junsu. Miraculously -- or so TOP thought because he thought Junsu was as feminine as he was: not -- Junsu managed to find something within minutes with Kevin’s help.  
  
TOP was so pissed.  
  
He had been hiding in a public bathroom for a few minutes when Alex texted him and asked him how things were going. He buried his head in his knees and tried not to cry from frustration as he texted back the bad news.  
  
 _I’ll ask around. Some of the women here should have a few ideas. Don’t give up! Fighting!_ Alex wrote back.  
  
 _I don’t need a few ideas, I just need one_ , TOP complained to himself. _If I could just find at least one decent outfit..._  
  
His phone beeped. Another message from Alex came through. _You're having a difficult time, right? When I’m done here I’ll come over and help you some more if you still need it. Then, I’ll pamper you.  
  
What would you like? A delicious home-cooked dinner?  
  
A foot massage?  
  
A serenade?  
  
A hot bath?  
  
All of the above?  
  
None of the above?  
  
I’m going to keep texting you until you answer, so you’d better answer. A nap? A hug?..._  
  
TOP finally allowed himself to smile. _All of the above_ , he wrote back. _And the nap and hug. Especially the hug._  
  
He thought a moment before sending the request he most wanted to be fulfilled:  
  
 _... And I hope you can honestly tell me I’m pretty._


	4. Conventional vs. Unconventional, Heels vs. Mustaches

TOP’s salvation came in the form of Juri, who was talking with Kevin and G.O. at a food stall nearby. She happened to know just the place to find unconventional clothes for unconventional people, and the Alhyun and Joonvin couples had left the cafe before she could tell anyone.  
  
“I have a friend who has very good fashion sense, and he’s even helped men in a similar predicament to yours,” she told them confidently. At TOP’s raised eyebrow, she promised, “He _will_ know what looks best on you, and you _will_ look great!”  
  
So TOP went with Juri in her car, and Kevin followed with G.O. in the car Hyung Joon loaned to him for the afternoon.  
  
“Well now, you look cute,” G.O. commented as they were leaving the parking lot. He was trying to follow Rain’s advice about treating everything lightheartedly, but what he really wanted to do was freak out and scream ‘ _Waaaah! Guy in a dress! Guy in a dress! This is not normal! Guy in a dress!_ ’  
  
He managed to keep it under control for the most part, and he managed to channel the leftovers into curiosity rather than panic.  
  
“So, how does it feel to wear a dress?” he asked in the least offensive tone of voice possible.  
  
“It’s okay,” Kevin replied indifferently. “The one I’m wearing is comfortable anyway.”  
  
G.O. pushed a little. “Isn’t it a bit... embarrassing? Being dressed as a woman when you’re a man?”  
  
“It was fun the first time I did it, but it _was_ a little bit embarrassing when everyone told me afterwards I didn’t have to wear women’s clothes to look like a woman. That awkward phase lasted only a few years, then I just gave up on caring. Now I don’t really care what other people have to say about my appearance. I just try enjoy what I’ve got.”  
  
“And yes, I _do_ plan on enjoying this experience fully,” Kevin smiled at G.O., answering his unasked question.  
  
G.O. agreed that Kevin did look like a girl, no matter what. And even though G.O. still couldn’t quite understand how the younger man could be so manly and feminine at the same time, something clicked into place in his mind.  
  
He suddenly cared less. He still cared, but he was no longer disturbed by the fact that Kevin was sitting next to him, wearing a dress.  
  
 _Perhaps it’s for the same reason as why I don’t mind Juri’s headstrong nature, which could be perceived as masculine_. He leaned forward and looked ahead to Juri’s car, where he could see her carrying an animated conversation with TOP. Then he looked sidelong at Kevin. _It doesn’t really matter, does it? A person is a person, and just because they don’t share the same interests or hobbies as me, doesn’t mean I should write them off, right?_  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
They got to the store half an hour later than they predicted they would due to traffic, but a camera crew had managed to get there earlier in plenty of time to set up for their arrival. As soon as they pulled in, Juri’s friend -- whose name he had been told was Byunhee, just like him -- ran up to her and gave her a big hug, kissing both of her cheeks in the process.  
  
G.O. certainly hoped this Byunhee was gay. If not, then he might have to pull him aside in an alleyway or somewhere to ‘talk’.  
  
G.O. walked swiftly to where his wife and her friend were talking, and threw an arm over Juri’s shoulders as soon as he reached her.  
  
“ _Mine_ ,” he growled at the other Byunhee, much to Juri’s amusement.  
  
She giggled and slapped his shoulder playfully. “Oh, G.O.-gun, you have nothing to worry about. Byunhee-oppa doesn’t like me that way.”  
  
“I don’t,” the other guy confirmed. “But she _is_ pretty close to my type of lady.”  
  
G.O. narrowed his eyes and made sure to stand between the other Byunhee and his wife as they entered the store.  
  
The store was called “Unconventional Styles”, appropriately enough. When he heard that some Idols would be stopping by, Byunhee had closed the store for the day and prepared for the visitors. The inside was huge, and there were a large sample of clothing arranged by size and body types, rather than masculine or feminine.  
  
Byunhee led them to a place near the dressing rooms. On tables and coat-hangers he usually kept clear near ther, he had placed a bunch of clothes for TOP to try on. TOP visibly cringed when he saw them all, but Byunhee patted his back and said, “Don’t worry, once you have tried a few, I’ll have a better sense of what will work for you and what won’t. You won’t have to try all of these.” TOP looked doubtful, but allowed himself to be led in anyway with a few samples.  
  
G.O. contented himself with looking around the store, especially when Juri asked to borrow Byunhee’s makeover kit so she could have fun with Kevin. He wandered past the eccentric array of clothes for tall people, short people, people with disproportionate body masses... and eventually he found himself upstairs with the accessories. The items looked more like things for a costume store, and he got quite a laugh when he found a packet of fake, attachable mustaches.  
  
When Alex and Hyung Joon finally arrived, G.O. was admiring a bin full of ties. Hyung Joon joined him, since Kevin wasn’t allowed out of the dressing room until his makeup had finished being applied and he had finished helping Byunhee to dress up TOP. Alex wandered nearby at the shoes section, admiring a selection of sandals and heels made to suit men or large-footed women.  
  
G.O. sidled up to Alex and admired some sandals with him. He figured if anyone could help him understand the appeal of men in dresses, Alex could do it. Or rather, he could help him understand how the dichotomy could exist. After all, he didn’t seem to mind that TOP was going to be womanly from now on in the show, but he also hadn’t seemed to be comfortable with dressing up himself. And he was a tad more articulate than Hyung Joon.  
  
“Well, a lot of times gender-specific fashion is based on conventional beliefs,” Alex answered his question thoughtfully. “In terms of practicality, clothes are supposed to protect our bodies from the elements, and keep us somewhat modestly covered in public. But the way clothes are put together and presented mostly depend on public opinion, and public opinion generally determines something’s conventionality.”  
  
“For example, in Scotland it is okay for men to wear skirts, without underwear even. In some African societies it is perfectly normal for women to walk around topless. These things aren’t acceptable here, mostly because of public opinion.”  
  
“And I’m sure it’s because it is too cold here for those things,” Alex chuckled to himself.  
  
“The point is, while some people make the mistake of thinking clothes must be specific for the genders, it’s really only a matter of opinion. And whether it matters to someone or not is largely dependant on whether they care enough about the general consensus to want to live by it, or if they feel comfortable enough with themselves to let themselves have an opinion of their own.”  
  
“I honestly don’t care if men walk around in skirts,” Alex concluded. “In terms of my husband, it only matters to me that he is comfortable with himself in what he wears. If the clothes don’t appeal to my sense of fashion, that doesn’t really matter. I can adjust. I just need him to be happy with himself.”  
  
Alex was called over to Byunhee and asked to help with finding some accessories for TOP’s wardrobe. The store manager seemed to think it was important that he put in an opinion, even though it didn’t really hold any importance to Alex.  
  
G.O. looked at a high-heel he thought would look good on Juri, then he thought of the mustaches. He wondered if it really mattered that public opinion stated that fashionable women should wear attractive high heels.  
  
 _It’s only a matter of opinion_ , G.O. concluded after he realized again that, once again, he didn’t care about that. _Just so long as she is fine with her appearance, and so long as those around her allow her to be who she is, that’s what’s really important_.  
  
So he went back and grabbed a packet of mustaches, and didn’t care if fans chose to tease him and Juri by calling them the “Mustache Couple” from now on.


	5. Amen Sister!

_A little bit earlier, in the dressing area, but not the dressing room..._  
  
“Sit here, Kevin-ah,” Juri instructed, pulling out a chair from the small table in the room. She placed the makeup kit she had borrowed onto the table and opened it up.  
  
It was a sparse kit, by Idol standards. But Byunhee was of the opinion that simple was better. Extra makeup was okay, though, especially for artistic purposes, but still, simple was better.  
  
And he had trained Juri well, since she pulled out the basic supplies with confidence that made him proud.  
  
“I see I’m not needed here,” Byunhee commented to them as she pulled out the necessary fluids and cotton swabs necessary for taking off Kevin’s on-screen makeup. He turned his full attention therefore to TOP. “Seunghyun-sshi? Please let me in? I need to take a few measurements so I can narrow down the options.”  
  
The door opened and let the clothier in. Kevin finished wiping off the makeup he wore and waited patiently for Juri to make the final decisions in her makeup preparation.  
  
She took a sponge and began patting on the foundation. “So Kevin-ah. How would you like to be treated? Do you want to be treated as a man in a woman’s dress, or do you want to be treated as a man trying to pass for a woman in a woman’s dress?” she asked matter-of-factly.  
  
Kevin closed his eyes as the sponge dabbed around his nose. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve been told I act a lot like a woman anyway, so I suspect that’s how people already treat me,” he answered.  
  
“None of this phases you, then?”  
  
“Not really. Although I will admit, I’m glad I’m a man.”  
  
“Oh? Why’s that?”  
  
“Gender identities aside, it’s physically more comfortable. At least, I assume it is. Deanna-noona has certainly complained enough for me to not want to be a woman.”  
  
Juri leaned back. The foundation looked even, so she moved on to the finer details. “What has she complained about, exactly?”  
  
“Oh, things like how her chest hurts when she runs, even though she wears a bra. And how her lower stomach pooches out no matter how many sit-ups she does. And when the red lady visits, she’s rarely comfortable,” he commented. Then he chuckled, “She’s going to kill me when she watches this, I’m sure.”  
  
After a long pause, Kevin asked, “I haven’t offended you, have I?”  
  
“Nope!” She smiled and tweaked his nose before getting out the eye shadow. “I can sympathize with your sister. But even so, I’m glad I’m a woman.”  
  
“Oh? And why’s that?” Kevin asked back.  
  
“Mmmm... because women’s clothes tend to allow for more diverse artistic expression,” Juri decided to answer. Now was probably not the best time or place to mention that she loved her own womanly form, and that she looked forward to the day she could let her man pet his hands all over her. That was TMI for everyone present and not present. "And I can give birth to babies," she added as an afterthought.  
  
“Fair enough,” Kevin conceded. When her hands left his face for some eyeliner, he leaned back and raised his voice. “Seunghyun-hyung? Have you been listening to our conversation?”  
  
“I’ve heard enough to catch the drift. Why?” was the response from the other side of the door. Byunhee walked out with his notes in his hand.  
  
“How do you feel about this? Do you want to be treated as a woman, or as a man in a dress?” Kevin asked as he leaned in for Juri to carefully apply the dark lines around his eyes.  
  
There was a bit of a pause before the older man decided to answer. “I’m fine with wearing dresses, but I still feel like a man. So I would prefer to be treated as a man with a unique sense of fashion,” he concluded.  
  
“Awww, and here I was, hoping for a kindred spirit,” Juri whined with an exaggerated pout.  
  
Kevin laughed kindly and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry noona, if you need some girl time, I’d still be willing to talk with you.”  
  
“Same here!” TOP called out. “I’m definitely going to need to start hanging out with more women if I’m to understand how to present myself in women’s clothes.”  
  
Juri clapped her hands excitedly. “Yay! I get to hang out with girly-men!” she teased, earning a glare from Kevin’s now dark eyes.  
  
Byunhee walked back in to the dressing room with an armful of clothes. “And how are my lady and ladies-in-training coming along?” he asked leaning in to check Kevin’s makeup. “Hmmm, the eye shadow is a bit darker than what I would have done, but it still looks good,” he complimented. He stepped up to the door, flopped the clothes over the edge, and instructed TOP to try them on.  
  
“Kevin, there’s one thing I don’t really understand: why is it acceptable for men to wear dresses on the stage, but when women dress as men, it’s considered rude and vulgar?” Juri asked pensively.  
  
“I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it before now,” Kevin answered after a while. He turned to Byunhee who was standing by, waiting for TOP’s assessment of the selection of clothes he had chosen. “Byunhee-sshi? Do you know?”  
  
“I think many people assume women are silly and weak, and therefore they think it’s okay to make fun of them by having men impersonate women,” Byunhee began. “But if women dress up as a man -- with men being considered tough and someone you do not want to mess with -- people get angry because they’re trying to make fun of someone whom society feels should not be made fun of.”  
  
“And for a man to _willingly_ dress up as a woman on a _regular basis_ is considered scandalous because most people see a man wanting to have that weak character that women convey, not a man wanting the feminine qualities of gentleness and kindness that are generally associated with women. Or something like that. There are many reasons why a man would want to dress as a woman, I’m sure, but our society is limited in their views to that one negative aspect.”  
  
“Wow,” Juri pulled back from her work, dazed. “That explains why a lot of people find me so offensive. People have often mistaken my headstrong nature as making me a person to be feared, not a person trying to be strong so I can gain respect like a man would.”  
  
“ _Soooo_ ,... we either need to have people make fun of men more often to balance out the teasing,... or people should stop teasing women altogether and give them the respect they deserve,” Kevin concluded.  
  
“ _Amen_ , Brother!” Juri shouted.  
  
Juri was almost finished. She still had to select the lipstick. Byunhee stepped up to them and started fiddling with Kevin’s short hair.  
  
When both were done painting his lips and sweeping his hair to the side, they stood back and admired their handiwork. Then, suddenly, they were both squealing like little girls and saying, “ _Kyaaaa!!!_ You’re so cute!!!”  
  
“Ah, I can’t wait for Seunghyun to come out so I can play with him,” Juri sighed happily, content with her abilities.  
  
“Oh, that’s right, I wonder how he’s coming along,” Byunhee remembered, turning back to the door. “Seunghyun-sshi, how’s it going in there?”  
  
There was silence. In fact, they hadn’t heard from him in a while. Kevin looked concerned.  
  
He stepped up to the door and called out, “Hyung? Are you okay in there?”  
  
“It’s... It’s...,” TOP began hesitantly. Then in a rush, he proclaimed, “I need a second opinion!”  
  
Juri felt so tempted to go up and offer herself for the task, but she was too slow. The door opened slightly, and TOP had yanked Kevin in and closed the door so quickly she hadn’t time to step away from the makeup.  
  
There was silence again. And then...  
  
“Holy _crap_ , hyung! You look _good_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I watched part of a Korean drama where a woman made mention of her menstrual cycle as ‘the red lady visited’. I thought that was a nice, non-TMI way of putting it. So that’s why I used it.
> 
> I wish I knew how to make my characters explain these notions like regular people, and not like a person who’s accustomed to writing reports and essays instead of creative writing. Why can’t I make my characters talk in a normal manner? WHY?????!!!!
> 
> Also, I won’t make you suffer for much longer. The next chapter will be from Alex’s point of view, and we’ll finally get to see TOP looking pretty in a dress.


	6. TOP in a Dress

Alex felt bad. He hadn’t meant to pressure TOP into performing the task of dressing like a woman. But when he really didn’t want to do something, he had a tendency of becoming a little bit selfish.  
  
That, and who _doesn’t_ want to see TOP in a dress.  
  
Even so, he felt he had to do his best to make up for the torture TOP must be going through. As Alex browsed the myriad of jewelry, hair-clips, and other accessories, he reviewed his mental checklist:  
  
 _I have all of the supplies for dinner at home, and it’ll take about an hour to fix. While I’m doing that, Seunghyun-sshi can take a relaxing bath... Do I still have bath oil left? Ah, right it’s in the cabinet under the sink._  
  
 _Should I put flower petals in the tub?_ He thought back to their first day when he gave TOP roses. _He seemed pleased with them, but he wasn’t ecstatic, so perhaps a simple, relaxing bath would be preferable. Still, if it looks to be a good idea when the time comes, I can just take the roses I have in the car for our dinner table and take off a few petals...._  
  
 _Serenade? During dinner? No, a better time to do it would be after his nap. I can wake him up with a song. Then we’ll have dinner._  
  
He checked the saved text-messages on his phone. _Foot massage? Should I do that while he’s relaxing in the tub? No, that would take away from camera time since that wouldn’t be filmed. But it would be more sincere if I did it even out of the camera’s view. Then again, Seunghyun-sshi would probably refuse to let me into the bathroom. He didn’t even let me in to help him with dressing earlier...._  
  
Alex looked over at the doorway to the dressing room. He could hear Juri, Kevin, and Byunhee having a philosophical discussion about the differences in the way women and men are treated by society. TOP hadn’t said anything for a while, or else he was so far into the room it would be difficult to hear him anyway. It was especially difficult to hear with all of that squealing coming from Juri and Byunhee over Kevin’s cuteness.  
  
 _For someone so beautiful, he seems so body-shy_ , Alex mused. He thought about the last thing TOP had texted him. _The only request that he had made for himself_ , Alex reminded himself.  
  
 _‘I hope you can honestly tell me I’m pretty.’_ That only reinforced in Alex’s mind that TOP was perhaps a bit insecure with himself. _But how do I convince a man who is perfect in appearance that he is so if he doesn’t already believe it?_ Alex shook his head, knowing he was going to have a difficult time on that point.  
  
“Holy _crap_ , hyung! You look _good_!”  
  
Alex whipped his head around at Kevin’s faint exclamation. He rushed over to the dressing room door and listened in. He could hear a little bit of squabbling from the older two people. Then he heard a door open and shut quickly, while Kevin yelped _‘hey!’._ Presumably he was shoved out of the fitting room TOP was in.  
  
“Seunghyun-gun? If Kevin says it looks good, then don’t you think you should come out?” Juri asked.  
  
There was a bit of sound that was definitely TOP’s voice, but Alex couldn’t make out a word of it.  
  
“Another one? Well, I suppose you should try more on, but we’ve been waiting all day for you to find that one dress. Can’t we at least see this one before you move on?”  
  
 _You think you’re anxious to see him? I’m dying out here!_ , Alex wanted to scream out.  
  
He continued to strain to hear, and finally he heard the click of a door opening. Which was immediately followed by everyone screaming in excitement in the room. Then, he heard Juri and Byunhee squabbling over who would get the honor of applying the makeup.  
  
“But you got to do Kevin!” Byunhee protested.  
  
“But you’re busy! Don’t you have to go help Alex-sshi find some accessories or something?” she countered.  
  
“He’s fine on his own. You got to do Kevin, so I get to do Seunghyun-sshi-”.  
  
“ _I’ll_ do it on my own,” TOP butted in. “I’ve applied makeup to myself often enough.”  
  
There was a pause before Juri said, “Kevin-ah, if he knows how to do it, then why didn’t you?”  
  
“Oh, I knew how. I just thought you wanted to have fun.”  
  
“Oh. Well. I did.”  
  
The conversation went on and on like this for a solid five minutes before Alex’s impatience began to get the better of him. Finally, he knocked on the door frame and asked, “May I come in?”  
  
A deafening chorus of _'NO!_ ' and ' _Not yet!_ ' slammed in his ears, and he staggered back from the sheer force of it. Byunhee and Kevin came out and ushered him back to the bin of accessories and instructed him to look for things that would go with varying shades of gray, with a bit of lavender mixed in.  
  
Alex finally found a hair clip that was a simple, solid gray bar. He thought it was lame to think that something so plain would work, but he asked Byunhee anyway. To his surprise, Byunhee shouted ‘It’s perfect!’ and held his hand out for the clip.  
  
“Can’t _I_ give it to him?” Alex asked selfishly, clutching the clip close.  
  
“No! You have to wait until he’s completely prettied up before you can see him,” Kevin responded while grabbing for the clip. He managed to get a hold of one end of it, and a small tug-of-war ensued until Juri stepped out and poked Alex’s ribs. Being an unfortunately ticklish man, Alex let go with a yelp. Kevin raced back to the dressing room with the clip raised victoriously above his head.  
  
Alex turned and glared at Juri, but before he could say anything, Byunhee threw an arm over his shoulder and steered him to a chair nearby.  
  
“Wait here,” he instructed. “Seunghyun-sshi will be out in a moment.”  
  
Alex was eerily reminded of the day when he and Shinae went to get a wedding dress for their 100th day anniversary photos. It was torture for him, waiting for her to show up in her dress. And just like the suspense was killing him then, it was killing him now.  
  
He had every confidence TOP would look good. He could hardly wait.  
  
So he distracted himself again with his checklist: _I checked with Yanggoon-hyung already to see if Seunghyun-sshi could stay with me for the night. Since he was aware of the possibility that one of them might be going on an overnight trip to Jeju, he kept their options open. I hope my directions for the camera crew were clear enough for them to get to my apartment. The house we’re being given won’t be ready until tomorrow. Perhaps we should go by tomorrow and check it out -._  
  
Someone flopped into a chair next to him, distracting him from his checklist. It was Hyung Joon.  
  
“Hey,” he greeted. “They’re still not out yet?”  
  
“Nope,” Alex responded. “Although I did see Kevin a moment ago. He looked cute.”  
  
“Did he? Psssht! He’s _always_ cute,” Hyung Joon bragged with a grin.  
  
“He’s also really strong,” Alex pouted, displaying his fingers that were still pink from gripping the clip hard and having it yanked out.  
  
Hyung Joon winced in sympathy.  
  
“ _He’s ALIIIIIIVE!_ ” Byunhee shouted in the dressing room.  
  
“I’m not Frankenstein’s monster!” TOP’s voice protested haughtily.  
  
“No, you are much prettier than Frankenstein’s monster,” Juri assured him as she stepped out of the room to face Alex and Hyung Joon. “ _Gentlemen_ ,” she announced proudly, “Your husbands will be out in a moment. And I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to insist on your eyes being covered.” Both men groaned.  
  
G.O. came down the stairs to see what all of the commotion was about. “Honey!” Juri called out. “I need your help here.” She put Alex and Hyung Joon into position in front of the door, and instructed G.O. to cover Alex’s eyes while she covered Hyung Joon’s.  
  
Alex was feeling super antsy. He could tell when Kevin and TOP stepped out of the dressing room because of everyone -- including the filming crew -- exclaiming at how beautiful TOP looked and how cute Kevin was. Alex wanted to scream in frustration.  
  
Even G.O. admitted TOP looked gorgeous.  
  
Alex could see a little bit below the hand covering up his view. When TOP was instructed to stand in front of him, he could see a pair of bare feet and silver-grey leggings.  
  
“Are you ready?” Juri asked.  
  
“No,” was TOP’s response. “Yes,” was everyone else’s.  
  
Alex couldn’t contain himself any longer. “I want to _seeeee..._ ” he whined pitifully. He heard TOP’s embarrassed chuckle.  
  
“Okay then. On three,” Juri announced.  
  
“One.”  
  
 _Hurry hurry hurry...._  
  
“Two.”  
  
 _Three! Three!_  
  
“Two-and-a-haaaalf...”  
  
Alex growled. “Seriously, if you don’t say ‘three’, I’m going to-”. The hands pulled away.  
  
“ _Whoa._ ”  
  
TOP couldn’t meet his eyes, as he was awkward under Alex’s gaze. But despite his discomfort with Alex and everyone else staring, he seemed to wear his long-sleeved, silver-gray tunic dress with lavender trimmings confidently.  
  
Alex’s eyes followed up TOP’s graceful neck to his flawless face. He didn’t know what TOP had done differently around the eyes, but they seemed to Alex to be softer and without the intensity he usually wore. An element of shyness was added to TOP’s expression through the sweep of his long bangs just to the side of his right eye and curling in along his jaw line. The hair on the left side of his head was gathered in the clip Alex had selected, and it caused the hair to curl in and frame his ear.  
  
Alex thought he was beautiful. He could tell it was still TOP, and there was no problem of him accidentally mistaking him for a girl. But here was something about him, an invisible veil that had been lifted perhaps, that made Alex feel like he was being shown a truth about TOP. Like TOP was revealing a little bit of himself instead of hiding away behind a feminine facade.  
  
TOP shifted nervously on his feet and hesitantly crooked an eyebrow at him. “Well?” he asked softly.  
  
“ _Seunghyun-ah_ ,” Alex said, his breath having been taken away by TOP's sheer beauty. He stopped short, though, when he noticed Hyung Joon had said the exact same thing, in the exact same way.  
  
Both of the older men looked at each other in surprise. Juri spoke up, teasing them both with, “Uh, guys? Do you all need a room or something? Or a slap to remind you that we’re still filming?”  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Alex could see Kevin shaking, with his hand covering his mouth. Concerned, he looked full-on at the younger man, and noticed he was not crying but laughing. Once Kevin saw his bewildered expression, his silent laughter became a bubbling giggle.  
  
“Aigo! Hyung-deul! Didn’t you know that our names are similar?” Kevin asked them all. When everyone, including TOP, continued to look at him confused, he rolled his eyes. He pointed to TOP “Choi _Seung_ -hyun,” then to himself “Woo _Sung-_ hyun.”  
  
...  
  
“ _Oh,_ ” everyone said at once, finally understanding.   
  
Hyung Joon sighed, exaggerating his relief by clutching his hand to his heart. He turned to Alex and said, “My goodness, Hyung, you gave me a fright! I thought you were eyeing my man for a moment.”  
  
“Oh, I know your man’s cute and all, but I’m strictly a sucker for the _devastatingly gorgeous_ type,” Alex replied, winking at TOP. The younger man bit his lip to hide a smile and quickly looked away, obviously embarrassed.  
  
 _Or perhaps a little bit flattered, at least_ , Alex hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate chapter title: 'And You Thought YOU Were Anxious to See TOP in a Dress...'


	7. The Faint Threads of a Memory

_'Sunghyun-ah.'_  
  
Kevin shivered without meaning to. Hyung Joon looked away from TOP and Alex -- who were being disgustingly flirtatious (or at least Alex was, anyway) -- to Kevin.  
  
“Are you cold, Kevin-ah?” the older man asked, concerned.  
  
 _‘Kevin-ah’? Whatever happened to ‘Sunghyun-ah’? I don’t think I’ve ever heard him call me by my real name before, but somehow it feels familiar...._  
  
Hyung Joon turned away and looked at the clothes nearby. He grabbed Kevin’s arm and dragged him over to the coats.  
  
“I thought I gave you my credit card so you could buy clothes,” he commented, pulling out a long, dark blue trench coat. “Even with that turtleneck, you’d still be cold.”  
  
“I _have_ a jacket,” Kevin protested.  
  
Hyung Joon gave him a gentle glare. “You weren’t buying the cheapest things because you didn’t want to inconvenience me, were you?” he accused.  
  
Kevin pouted and looked away. “Maybe,” he muttered.  
  
Hyung Joon just sighed. He pulled out a few more warm, stylish coats and pushed Kevin toward the dressing room. He grabbed some scarves as well.  
  
Once inside one of the changing rooms, he began to try the items Hyung Joon had selected. He paused every now and then, staring at himself in the mirror, confused. Finally, he turned to the door and squinted at it as if he could see Hyung Joon standing at the other side.  
  
“Why do I feel like he’s called me ‘Sunghyun’ before now?” Kevin muttered under his breath. He shivered again at the memory of when he was revealed to Hyung Joon. The way he had said his name had made him feel so... desired. There was something in Hyung Joon’s expression that gave him a momentary impression that Hyung Joon felt like he was craving something he couldn’t have. Like Kevin was unobtainable.  
  
 _Idiot_. He smiled. _I’m totally obtainable. I’m up for grabs. All he has to do is reach out, sweep me off my feet, and run away with me...._  
  
He frowned. _But he’s already done that. He told me he likes me. He proposed to me on bended knee; if that isn’t considered sweeping me off my feet, I don’t know what is._  
  
Kevin looked at his backpack. Inside was a box with two of his plastic candy rings in it. He had taken some colored wire, and twisted and glued it artistically around the stems that used to hold the candy. With permanent marker (which he was sure would wipe off anyway after a while), he wrote “ _I love you, Hyung_ ” in tiny letters on the inside of the ring, to resemble the engraved messages on the insides of real wedding rings.  
  
 _I hadn’t told him that day that I liked him back, so this should do_ , Kevin thought while tugging a scarf into place.  
  
 _‘I love you, Sunghyun-ah,’ Hyung Joon sighed._  
  
Kevin twitched and rubbed his hand over a spot on his neck that had become a bit warm. _Where did THAT come from? I’ve imagined him telling me ‘I love you’ like that, but why does it affect me so much more than usual? It’s almost as if this is a memory -._  
  
Kevin gasped.  
  
 _‘Sunghyun-ah’. He called me that when we... after we...._  
  
Kevin got lost in the sudden burst of memory playing out in his mind, a memory he hadn’t managed to see until now.  
  
Flashback:  
  
 _Both men were breathing heavily, calming down into their post-coital drowsies. Kevin’s head was still swimming slightly from a combination of being drunk and having been kissed within an inch of his life. He allowed himself to be adjusted in the bed so Hyung Joon could spoon his back. Finding himself falling quickly into slumber, Kevin barely felt the soft, warm kiss on the back of his neck, and almost missed Hyung Joon’s last words before he lost consciousness.  
  
‘I love you, Sunghyun-ah,’ Hyung Joon sighed into Kevin’s ear, squeezing the younger man closer to his body._  
  
Kevin continued to rub absently at the spot on his neck where Hyung Joon had kissed him as he replayed that one short scene in his mind.  
  
He was so lost in his thoughts that even the sharp knocking on his door didn’t surprise him. He drifted over to the door and opened it.  
  
“Everything okay?” Hyung Joon asked, concerned when Kevin just stared at him.  
  
Kevin blinked once, coming back to the present. Then, smiling, he asked, “Care to join me?”  
  
“Um, well, okay,” Hyung Joon conceded, realizing he didn’t really have a choice since Kevin was pulling him inside regardless.  
  
“Some of these coats would look good on you,” the younger man said with a mysterious smile.  
  
Hyung Joon had no idea what was going on, but he allowed Kevin to take out the microphone from his back pocket, turn it off, and place it next to his own on a chair in the room. Then, Kevin took a jacket at random and helped Hyung Joon into it. The younger man’s hands shook visibly as he buttoned up the jacket in front. Hyung Joon reached up and gently held his surprisingly warm hands still against his jacket.  
  
 _‘Are you okay?’_ Hyung Joon mouthed, concerned.  
  
Kevin’s answering smile was sweet and clear, and then turned into something brilliant and blinding. Hyung Joon blinked rapidly to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.  
  
He didn’t have much time to clear his head, though, since Kevin had loosened his hands and wrapped his arms around Hyung Joon’s neck, pulling him in for a searing kiss.  
  
When Kevin pulled back to look at him, Hyung Joon could only stare at him dumbly.  
  
“I like you, too, Hyung,” Kevin whispered meekly. The younger man bit his lips in a show of uncertainty when Hyung Joon didn’t do anything.  
  
Finally, when Kevin was beginning to wonder if he had misunderstood something along the way, he felt arms wrap around his waist and tug him in gently. A smile twitched on the corner of Hyung Joon’s lips as he pulled Kevin in for another kiss.  
  
 _'I love you, Sunghyun-ah.'_  
  
 _I love you, too, Hyung Joon-hyung_ , Kevin thought happily as he wrapped his arms tighter around the older man’s neck.


	8. Backstage Commentaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: 'aka What the WGM Cast Choose to Tell the Camera When Their Spouses aren’t Present'

“ _‘How was your day?’_ ” Junsu read from the cue card. He glared at the camera, “It was torture!!! My back hurts like hell!”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“It was pretty good,” Juri commented, twisting her pirate-styled mustache thoughtfully. She grinned. “The highlight, of course, was seeing Seunghyun-sshi dressed as a woman. I wasn’t expecting him to look good, honestly. But darn it all he does! He even looks better than me!”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“Yeah, TOP-sshi looks good in a dress. I’m just glad it wasn’t me who had to do it. I would have died of embarrassment from all of the laughs I’d get,” G.O. said jokingly while picking at his handlebar mustache.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“I’m not all that surprised, actually,” said Daesung nonchalantly. “Hyung can do anything if he puts his mind to it. He just lacks confidence in himself, that’s all. People keep telling him he can’t achieve this or that, but his friends know better. Unfortunately he doesn’t listen to us like he should.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
 _“What was your first thought when TOP came out in a dress?”_  
  
“ _WOW! He’s hot!_ ” Alex replied immediately with a grin. “He’s pretty handsome anyway, and he’s equally beautiful as a woman. If you were to ask me how I prefer him... I don’t think I can say. Whatever is natural for him is how I prefer him, I guess.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
 _“Everyone is telling us they think you are hot. Do you have any feedback?”_  
  
TOP smiled shyly. “Everyone’s been very nice. I don’t know that I’ve ever been around a group of people who are so supportive and accepting of a situation this strange. As for how I look: this reaction’s still rather new to me, especially in terms of me being dressed as a woman. I’ll only believe everyone when I’ve seen the viewers’ reactions.”  
  
 _“And how does it feel to wear a dress?”_  
  
TOP shifted around in his seat, as if only now thinking about how the dress felt on him. “It feels nice, but I feel a bit naked down below, even though I’m wearing leggings. I’ve worn fashion garments that have felt strange like this before, but I’ve never worn them out in public as a natural article of clothing before. I suppose I’ll get used to it, though.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“The idea of wearing a dress has crossed my mind quite a few times today,” Junsu admitted. “It feels really awkward to be a man wearing this pregnancy suit. This thing even has boobs!” - he poked the imitation boobs in a disgusted manner - “How embarrassing! I was so relieved when Kevin-sshi helped me find a shirt to go over this thing that would make it look a little bit more normal. It’s a woman’s shirt, so I’ve been thinking I should just go ahead and dress like a woman for the time being.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“ _He’s so cute!_ I just want to pinch his cheeks all the time now, no matter how much he’ll punish me later,” Yunho said in response to a question about how he felt about his pregnant husband.  
  
 _“How do you think you would have felt if it had been you in the pregnancy suit?”_  
  
Yunho went thoughtful. “Hmmm..., I think I would have enjoyed it, actually. I do wonder sometimes how it feels to be a mother.... I spoke once with my mom about how it felt to be pregnant, and she told me it was difficult but it was one of the best times she had. She said that when she was pregnant with me, she had never felt so much peace with another human being in her life. I can imagine it, because it was the same when she was pregnant with my little sister Jihye. I remember Mom sitting in the baby’s room for long hours, just enjoying Jihye’s company while she was in Mom.”  
  
“... Even though Junsu isn’t really carrying a baby, it would be nice if he could feel the same kind of peace like my Mom did. I wonder if that’s a rare thing, to feel peace while pregnant...”.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“I’m not upset that I’m pregnant, not really,” Junsu said finally, after all of his complaining. “I remember back in the early days of DBSK, we practiced answering interview and trivia questions with each other, and one of the questions someone asked was something like, _‘Which member is most likely to have a shotgun marriage?’_ In the end, Yunho and I were tied for that one. We tied because Jaejoong-hyung couldn’t make up his mind between us.”  
  
He sighed, looking down at his belly. “Strange how the world works, huh...”.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“I’m not looking forward to it,” Yoseob said, sulking.  
  
 _“Who says it will be you? Why not Taecyeon-sshi?”_  
  
“Ugh, _really_? Taecyeon the Muscly Manly Man in a pregnancy suit? That would totally be damaging to his image. It will ruin my image, too, when I wear the suit, but of the two of us I’m the one who can pull off the look better.”  
  
 _“Why aren’t you looking forward to it?”_  
  
“... I think it would be a little bit embarrassing. And Junsu-sshi makes it look so hard,” Yoseob added, with a small smirk to indicate he knew that Junsu was only exaggerating.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“Who says I can’t do it?”  
  
 _“Your husband.”_  
  
“What on earth makes Yoseob-sshi think that? It would be awesome!”  
  
 _“Won’t it damage your image, though?”_  
  
“Oh... pish tosh!” Taecyeon dismissed in a playfully arrogant manner. “To hell with my image! I would be honored to carry the baby.”  
  
 _“...”._  
  
“Why is everyone so surprised when I say that? What’s wrong with me wanting to be the mom? Nothing, that’s ‘what’. So there.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
 _“Do you think you and Hyung Joon-sshi will have a child together on this show?”_  
  
“... No.”  
  
 _“Oh? Why not?”_  
  
Kevin fiddled nervously with a button on his new coat. “I can deal with this imaginary world well enough, but I don’t think my heart can handle having to pretend to be a dad. Or a mom. If we were to have a child on the show, it would break my heart to have to say goodbye to the child in the end.”  
  
“U-Kiss was offered to appear for a season of ‘Hello Baby’ at one point, but we refused because I and a few of the other softies in the group didn’t think we could handle the heartbreak at the end.”  
  
“I’ll settle for baby-sitting Junsu-hyung and Yunho-hyung’s baby when it’s born, though,” Kevin assured the viewers. “I’m pretty confident I’ll make a kick-ass uncle. If only I could convince Deanna-noona to have a baby already...”. He shook his head and sighed.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“I’m glad I don’t have to go through the pregnancy experience, but I am worried about being a dad so soon,” Onew said nervously. “I wasn’t very confident on ‘Hello Baby’, and I’m still not confident with taking care of a child. It took so long to get close to Yoogeun, and I’m worried it will take just as long to get close with Lily. And in the end, I’m afraid I’ll miss her too much.”  
  
“I may not have showed it during the filming of ‘Hello Baby’, but I was really sad when we had to say goodbye to Yoogeun,” Onew commented sadly. “Since it’s just Yesung-sshi and me this time, though, I’m worried the separation will feel worse, somehow.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“I’m not very confident with kids,” Yesung noted shyly. “I’ve wanted one, but I don’t think I know how to play with them like other parents seem to know how to do. I wonder if I’ll be able to go to Lily’s level...”. He tilted his head to the side in thought.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
 _“Kids?”_  
  
“No,” TOP answered simply.  
  
 _“No?”_  
  
“No.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
 _“Kids?”_  
  
“Hell yeah!” Alex replied.  
  
 _“How many?”_  
  
“... Just one to start off with. Quadruplets like last time would be a bit...,” Alex sighed and widened his eyes in an overwhelmed and exasperated expression.  
  
 _“What if TOP-sshi doesn’t want kids?”_  
  
“...”  
  
 _“Alex-sshi?”_  
  
Alex sighed. “Maybe I’d be able to convince him...”.  
  
 _“And if you can’t?”_  
  
Alex smiled sadly. “Then I suppose I’ll have to be content with baby-sitting from time to time.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“Yes,” Juri said.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“ _Maybe_ ,” G.O. said. “I don’t think we’re ready for that, though. I don’t think we’ll be ready for that by the end of the show, even.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“... I’m not sure yet,” Daesung answered finally.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“Yes. I’ll kiss-rape him if I have to,” Seunggi said cheekily. Then he became serious. “Not really. The kiss-rape, I mean. I wouldn’t do that. I don’t think either of us want to go through the pregnancy experience, and I’m not sure how much I trust having a surrogate mother doing the work.... Honestly, I just don’t know what we’d end up doing, but I do know that I want kids.”  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“I totally want kids!” Hyung Joon said excitedly. Then his expression changed as he changed his mind immediately. “Then again, I don’t really want either myself or Kevin to have to go through the pregnancy experience. SS501 had to do that once for a full day, and it wasn’t all that comfortable. I was a _terrible_ ‘mom’. And on top of everything, _I_ was the one who had to carry _twins_!” He shuddered at the memory. “No, I don’t think Kevin and I will be having kids anytime soon."  
  
“Perhaps if we could adopt, though...”.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
Junsu stared hard at his ‘belly’. “Am I having twins?” he asked the camera. He poked and prodded at the suit. “It seems rather _large_ for five months...”.  
  
“I think I’ve even developed varicose veins just from this one day of filming...”, he whined. He leaned over pulled up a pant leg, and peered around his pregnant belly to check his knee. “Nope. I was wrong. Maybe next time.”


	9. Of Kisses and Conception

Lost in mesmerizing pull of Kevin’s lips and tongue, Hyung Joon didn’t hear the voices outside of the door at first.  
  
“They’re taking a long time in there,” Juri’s voice commented. “Should one of us check to see that no one’s dead?”  
  
“I’ll do it,” volunteered Byunhee. “Which would be more exciting: if I knocked or if I just went in?”  
  
Juri laughed. “They only took coats and scarves, so they shouldn’t be undressed all that much. Just go in,” she suggested evilly.  
  
Fortunately, it was about this time the Hyung Joon’s sense of hearing kicked in. He jerked his head back in horror and didn’t notice Kevin stumble forward slightly because of the sudden disconnect. As Kevin blinked rapidly, becoming refocused to reality, Hyung Joon’s eyes looked at the door’s reflection in the mirror and noticed it was unlocked. The door was too far away, so he wouldn’t be able to lock it in time.  
  
Within that same second of thought, he looked at Kevin and noticed the younger man’s lipstick was smudged in a rather obvious manner. Hyung Joon quickly flipped the end of the scarf that Kevin was wearing over his head and pushed him away ungracefully.  
  
“Hyung, what-?”  
  
As the doorknob turned, Hyung Joon looked into the mirror once more and saw that his lips had been covered in lipstick during the course of their kissing. Unable to reach for a scarf for himself, he just leaned against the wall and propped a hand over his mouth as if to suggest he was looking over Kevin’s clothing thoughtfully.  
  
“So, how are you two doing?” Byunhee asked as he entered. Kevin had pulled his scarf down far enough to glare at Hyung Joon, but the older man was pleased to note that Kevin seemed to understand the situation now.  
  
“We’re doing well,” Kevin said nonchalantly, carefully adjusting his scarf to cover the lower half of his face comfortably.  
  
“Excellent,” Byunhee commented, pleased. Then he warned, looking at the scarf, “Er, Kevin-sshi. Be careful you don’t pull that too tight around your face. It might smudge your makeup. Especially the lip gloss that Juri-noona applied.”  
  
“Oh?” Kevin pretended to be surprised. He turned to the mirror and took a conveniently quick peek based on the clothier’s comment. “Oh no! It _did_ smudge! How _clumsy_ of me. May I borrow a-,” -- Kevin flicked a quick look at Hyung Joon -- “ _some_ tissues, powder, and the lipstick again?”  
  
“Of course.” Byunhee left to get it. Once the door closed, Hyung Joon dropped his hand and quickly grabbed a scarf for himself. Kevin chuckled at him until the door opened again. The younger man pretended to adjust his bangs.  
  
“Here you go!” Byunhee offered cheerfully. “Anything else I can do for you?”  
  
“Um, we won’t be needing these coats,” Kevin said, handing a pile to Byunhee and sending him off again.  
  
Hyung Joon locked the door as soon as he was gone. Kevin turned back to the mirror and winced when he pulled the scarf down. He handed some tissues to Hyung Joon, then quickly dabbed at the smudges and patted on the powder onto his own face. He opened up the lipstick then paused, reconsidering.  
  
Hyung Joon could tell what he was thinking, based on the way he narrowed his eyes at the older man’s reflection in the mirror and turned to him. Smirking slightly, Hyung Joon tossed aside the tissues that he had wiped his mouth with and pulled Kevin into one more heart-stopping kiss.  
  
He was reluctant to let Kevin go, but he felt it would be too strange if they continued to hide away in the dressing room, so he tried to ease away. Kevin was even more reluctant to let go, but eventually he did.  
  
“Hmpf!” he huffed, pouting at Hyung Joon cutely before turning back to the mirror to reapply the lipstick. Once he finished, he flicked a flirtatious glance at him and blew a glossy pink kiss in his direction.  
  
To Kevin’s delight, Hyung Joon ‘caught’ it and ‘put’ it in his chest pocket for safekeeping for a later time.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
After purchasing the coats and scarves they had worn during their first kiss in the changing room, Hyung Joon and Kevin decided to check out the home they would be sharing with the Sunshine Couple. As they drove there, Kevin told Hyung Joon about his day.  
  
“A few hours after you left, Seunghyun-hyung and I met up with Juri-noona and G.O.-hyung. Oh, but before that we helped Junsu-hyung to find something better to wear on the show. It seems he was uncomfortable with looking like an ahjusshi with a potbelly, and wanted to make it more obvious that he was ‘pregnant’.”  
  
“Speaking of Junsu-hyung and his baby,” Kevin said, turning to face Hyung Joon in a business-like manner, “while we were at the maternity clothes store, and idea occurred to me: since we’re going to be neighbors with the Hosu couple, why don’t we throw them a baby shower? We could invite the rest of the cast, and Junsu-hyung and Yunho-hyung’s families -”.  
  
“Whoa whoa whoa!” Hyung Joon finally interrupted. “Inviting the families might be too difficult. Let’s just stick with the WGM cast,” he suggested.  
  
Honestly, it wasn’t the difficulty of the matter that Hyung Joon was worried about. He was afraid there might be underlying discomfort among the families about the current situation, and he didn’t want to aggravate it by naively inviting potentially unwelcome guests.  
  
He thought Kevin got his hint, because he tactfully altered his idea. “You’re right,” he said, nodding. “We could let Yunho-hyung in on our plan, and let _him_ figure out what to do about the families...”.  
  
Kevin prattled on about plans, saying “hyung this” and “hyung that” about the other cast members. “My my, you’re quite the socialite,” Hyung Joon teased, secretly becoming jealous of all of the men potentially vying for his lover’s attention.  
  
“Don’t worry Hyung,” Kevin said sweetly, catching on right away and turning it into a gentle joke for the viewers’ benefit, “I have eyes only for you.” He fluttered his lashes at him.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
They reached the MBC tower close to sunset, so they got a good view overlooking Seoul when they got to the top.  
  
“ _Wow_ ,” Kevin breathed as both men stopped to admire the pink sky and purplish clouds. Hyung Joon allowed himself to drape an arm over Kevin’s shoulders and pull him in for a hug. He claimed it was only for fan service for those who loved the Joonvin couple, but of course he enjoyed the opportunity to hold his lover close.  
  
It was also for fan service’s sake that Kevin gave him a small kiss on the cheek right there, on the tower’s rooftop, in front of the cameras. Later, Kevin would tell him that saying it was for fan service was a lie. He got a thrill of displaying affection for Hyung Joon in public.  
  
Nonetheless, Hyung Joon couldn’t help but make a sneaky comment, “And what will Na PD-nim say to that ‘ _kiss_ ’?”  
  
Kevin’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “What do you mean?”  
  
“To conceive a child, we would have to kiss,” Hyung Joon replied, smiling at the horror growing upon Kevin’s face. The older man turned eagerly to the assistant director nearby, asking, “Does that count as ‘intercourse’ for us?”  
  
The assistant director smirked and held up his cell phone. “Let’s find out, shall we?”  
  
“Gah! No! No no _noooo_!” Kevin cried dramatically, hiding behind Hyung Joon as if that would deter the possibility of an impending pregnancy. Hyung Joon assumed he was reluctant because he didn’t want to go through the pregnancy experience. He couldn’t blame him.  
  
“What’s all this racket?” a voice inquired from behind them. They both turned to see that Yunho had just stepped out of the house and was walking in their direction.  
  
“When did _you_ get here? And where’s Junsu-sshi?” Hyung Joon asked, surprised.  
  
“We got here a while ago,” answered Yunho with a shrug. “Junsu was tired after having lunch with some of the other couples, and after getting a new shirt.” Yunho nodded his thanks to Kevin, who was still partially cowering behind Hyung Joon. “I brought him here so that he and the ‘baby’ could rest.”  
  
“Speaking of babies,” the assistant director interrupted, finishing his call. Kevin squeaked in fear. “Unfortunately, a kiss on the cheek is not enough to acquire a baby. Both people would have to be more involved for it to work.”  
  
“Kiss? What kiss?”  
  
Kevin pointed to the lipstick smudge on the side of Hyung Joon’s cheek for Yunho’s inspection. “Aigo, and here I was, hoping my child would have someone close to his or her age to play with,” Yunho said, shaking his head sadly.  
  
“Speaking of _your_ baby, we were wondering...” Kevin began, linking arms with both Yunho and Hyung Joon, guiding them toward the home they would share for the duration of the show.


	10. Wake Up, Sunshine

Yunho passed through the communal living room and stalked secretively toward the bedroom that he and Junsu had claimed before Kevin and Hyung Joon had arrived. Even though being the first couple there had the benefit of choosing which side of the house they got to live in, the house was fairly symmetrical. Each side of the house had a bedroom, a bathroom, and an extra room that could be a bedroom or office or entertainment room separate from the communal living room. They chose the side of the house with the most sunlight. When Junsu and Yunho first inspected the home, they decided immediately that their spare room would be the baby’s room. They didn’t have a choice really. Especially when neither of them were all that eager to share a room with a potentially screaming baby.  
  
That is, assuming they were ever going to spend the night there. Yunho got the impression that they would most likely spend one day of filming per week -- or every other week -- and never stay the night. Even though there was a bed for them to use, it was unlikely they would do so unless someone needed a nap. And it was unlikely that anyone would ever use it for a nap because, well, that would not make the show interesting, and making the show interesting was their job so they should make that a priority over a luxury nap.  
  
Unless they really needed the nap, like Junsu did. Yunho had joked for the cameras, claiming that having to spend the entire day with that sudden extra weight was likely to wear anyone out. But he knew better. Junsu wasn’t tired because of the entire day with a pregnancy suit (although he assumed that would contribute a lot anyway). He knew the younger man well enough to know that the general rigorous life of an idol helped him obtain enough endurance to handle such a situation.  
  
No. Either Junsu was sick -- he ruled that one out because Junsu seemed perfectly fine earlier in the day -- or something was keeping him up at nights and not allowing him to get the usual amount of sleep.  
  
Yunho assumed that the anxiety of having to appear on the show in spite of knowing that Jaejoong would possibly make his life hell was what was worrying Junsu. But Yunho didn’t know how much of a problem that was, if it was one night of insomnia or an entire week, for example.  
  
He peered around the door of the bedroom and looked at Junsu’s sleeping figure. Yunho knew of a way to gauge Junsu’s tiredness level simply by observing the younger man when he woke up, which was what he was going to do now.  
  
In spite of his worries over Junsu’s current emotional condition, Yunho couldn’t help but be a little bit excited over the opportunity to wake him up. It had been one of his favorite things to do, when DBSK was five and not two. Of course Jaejoong, being the more responsible one, was usually the one to wake Yunho up first, but whenever he got the opportunity, Yunho would start of the day excitedly waking up his dongsaengs.  
  
He climbed in bed behind Junsu, spooning his back and throwing an arm over his midsection. He would always start like this: quietly and peacefully. Yunho didn’t like jolting people awake, because it usually irritated them and that would set a bad mood for the rest of the day. The group generally responded well to a gentle initial wake-up, which would gradually progress to something more energetic if waking-up proved to be difficult.  
  
On the rare days when he got to wake up Jaejoong, waking up was difficult because he was usually too exhausted. Yoochun was always difficult to wake up, hands down. Changmin was the easiest, since he generally couldn’t tolerate for long the physical affection of Yunho’s wake-ups. And Junsu....  
  
“Junsu-yah,” Yunho said softly, rubbing the younger man’s hand. Junsu hummed to indicate he had been woken, but made no effort to wake up all the way. “It’s time to get up. Dinner’s ready,” Yunho tried, giving him a hug for good measure.  
  
Junsu grunted, and shifted himself around to face Yunho. He flopped an arm and a leg over him and nuzzled his former leader’s neck. “Sleep,” Junsu rasped.  
  
“Noooo, it’s wakey-wakey time,” Yunho chided in a sing-song voice, propping himself up on his elbow to discourage the younger man from cuddling. He tickled Junsu’s ribs for good measure.  
  
Junsu jerked back and covered his side, punctuating the gesture with a huge yawn. He finally opened his eyes and smiled sleepily up at Yunho.  
  
Yunho had loved waking Junsu the most in the past, because of all of the members, he responded the happiest to Yunho’s waking methods. When he had gotten a good sleep, he would be practically skipping around his morning schedule, his energy often contributing to getting Yoochun to move faster. When he hadn’t gotten enough sleep, he usually moved more slowly, but he was still sweet about everything, if not bubbling with joy.

 

However, whenever he didn’t get enough sleep because of stressful situations (which was rare but not unheard of), Junsu had a habit of sitting on the edge of his bed and staying there until he was pushed to move or was awake enough to move. Either way, Yunho assumed he sat there doing nothing because whatever thought had kept him up late, worrying, was occupying his mind the moment he woke up, and he needed to sit on the edge of his bed to think about it until he was conscious enough to ignore it and get his day started.  
  
Yunho continued to prod gently to get Junsu to wake up. He watched as Junsu moaned piteously, more for dramatic effect than because he was unhappy. The younger man sat up and rubbed his eyes, and Yunho held his breath as he waited to see what Junsu would do next. Junsu turned and swung his legs over the edge...  
  
... and just sat there. Yunho frowned slightly, disturbed by the revelation that Junsu’s thoughts weren’t allowing him much sleep at night.  
  
There wasn’t much that Yunho could do about that now, not without revealing everyone’s secrets in front of the camera. So he resolved to continue with the mission he had from the first moment he saw Junsu looking uncomfortable that morning: make Junsu forget his worries for a little while.  
  
“Come on, sunshine. Dinner’s ready, and I don’t think our neighbors are going to wait for us for very long,” Yunho encouraged, nudging Junsu’s back so the younger man would stand up.  
  
Junsu got up willingly and allowed himself to be guided to the mini outdoor garden that was located at the center of the house. Yunho helped him to put on the warm outdoor slippers because he wasn’t accustomed to reaching around his protruding belly yet. Once the shoes were on and a warm blanket was secured over his and Yunho’s shoulders, they made their way to the benches and table in the middle of the garden.  
  
“Welcome!” Kevin greeted as they sat down opposite him and Hyung Joon. “You’re just in time.”  
  
Junsu blinked blearily at the makeshift grill in the middle of the table. “I didn’t know that was there,” he said, impressed.  
  
Yunho took his chopsticks and grabbed a cooked piece of meat and placed it on top of Junsu’s rice bowl. “You were craving this earlier, right? Eat up!”  
  
“Aaaaaawww, you got this for me? You have got to be the awesomest hyung in the world,” Junsu said, leaning in and showing his gratitude by cuddling up and resting his head on Yunho’s shoulder. He picked up the meat and ate it happily.  
  
 _Thank God I’m doing this show with Junsu_ , Yunho thought happily as the younger man kept his head on his shoulder. _If I had been with any of the other JYJ members, it would have been awkward. Junsu’s the only one who can do this in stride and not make a big deal out of it._  
  
 _Still, I shouldn’t aggravate Jaejoong’s feelings_ , he worried, like he had been doing sporadically all day.  
  
“I didn’t do this for _you_ ,” Yunho commented, keeping his words light and cheery. “I did it so our baby would grow to be healthy.” He reached over and rubbed Junsu’s fake belly.  
  
The younger man pouted and swatted his hand away. Yunho’s comment had the desired effect of getting Junsu to sit up and away from him. “Hmf, I should have known. Anyway, I’ll eat a lot. Thanks for your consideration,” he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
 _Considering how Jaejoong still feels for me, I shouldn’t be allowing myself to have so much fun with Junsu, or to be doting on him all the time, no matter how pregnant he is_ , he thought sadly. _I can’t even let myself cuddle with him, for fear of making Jaejoong mad._  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
After they finished filming, Yunho followed Junsu to the base of the MBC tower to wait for a ride home. He contemplated giving the younger man a back hug as they waited in a VIP room near the lobby, but he had noticed Junsu was limping slightly, so he figured less weight on his shoulders was better.  
  
“So, Junsu-yah...” Yunho began, deciding to delve straight into the subject of Junsu’s worries rather than tiptoe around it. He knew Junsu hated it when he pressured him to tell his thoughts, but the younger man had an insufferable habit of trying to hide all of his troubles behind a smile.  
  
Junsu blushed and looked away awkwardly as Yunho enquired, indicating to Yunho that he had indeed guessed correctly about why the younger man was having so little sleep lately.  
  
“Hyung hasn’t gotten worse since that day we spoke together, but he hasn’t gotten any better either,” Junsu admitted grudgingly. “Yoochun-hyung is being helpful, though. In fact, whenever it looks like Jaejoong-hyung is going to be upset with me, he jumps in and changes the subject with a joke. In fact, he teased Jae-hyung’s cooking the other day. Hyung was so mad, it was _fantastic_.” Junsu grinned at the memory.  
  
 _Typical Junsu, attempting to lighten the awkward mood by putting a funny twist to a sad story_ , Yunho thought fondly, allowing Junsu to continue the conversation away from the awkwardness. _In fact, that’s probably what made him and Yoochun so good together; their willingness to become jokers made them a good team_.  
  
 _Junsu and Yoochun..._  
  
Yunho looked sidelong at the younger man, who was still prattling on about Jaejoong’s comical rage. _In a way, I’m surprised they aren’t still together. But then again I’m not, because I’ve always thought they were just as good as best friends as they were lovers_.  
  
 _Me and Junsu, though.... Now that’s an interesting combination._  
  
The company van for Junsu arrived sooner than Yunho’s. Just as Junsu was about to open the door to get in, Yunho called out to him, stopping him.  
  
“Yes?” Junsu asked as Yunho walked up to him.  
  
Yunho hesitated for a moment before he asked the request he had wanted to make since the first time he saw Junsu at the cafe the week before. He hesitated because, well, Junsu had not yet done it of his own volition, and thus far it had been Yunho who had initiated it. Yunho wasn’t sure if Junsu truly wanted to do it.  
  
“Would you... that is... May I have a hug?” Yunho asked hopefully. He wanted to slap himself for saying it like a doofus. He had no idea why asking this made him so nervous.  
  
Junsu’s face split into a huge grin. “Aigo, hyung! You don’t have to ask. I’d give you a hug any old day,” Junsu said as he wrapped his arms around Yunho.  
  
 _Ahhhhh, Junsu’s hugs are always perfect. Not too soft, not too tight, but juuuust right_ , Yunho thought, resting his head on Junsu’s shoulder and allowing himself to enjoy the moment for a bit. _I’ve missed this.... Changmin never hugs me, and Jaejoong and Yoochun’s hugs were always too soft._  
  
He made sure the hug he gave in return wasn’t too tight, though. He suspected that wearing the pregnancy suit might have put a lot of stress on Junsu’s back. In fact, that gave him an idea....  
  
Once he was in his own car, he texted someone he knew who gave the best back massages.  
  
 _Chunnie, Junsu’s had a difficult day today. Would you be a dear and give him a back and foot massage when he gets home?_  
  
Almost immediately after he sent off his request, a message came in from Changmin.  
  
 _Is it true that Junsu-hyung is pregnant?_ was the blunt query.  
  
 _Yep. How’d you find out?_  
  
 _Yesung-hyung told me. He and Onew are taking care of Lily at SM dorms. Come over?_  
  
 _Yep, coming_ , Yunho responded, looking forward to spending more time with them because he had enjoyed lunch with them earlier that day as well.  
  
 _Oh, and Hyung, I’d like a baby sister. Not a brother, too many of those. Sister. Sister!_  
  
Yunho chuckled at that request. _I can’t promise anything...._


	11. Bad Idea

As he surveyed the scene, it occurred to Yesung that this, perhaps, had not been such a good idea. He should have known that taking Lily to the SM dorms could only mean trouble. Especially when all of Super Junior, Shinee, Girl’s Generation, and others, were involved.  
  
He should have known to stop Onew from suggesting such a thing. But he had been so caught up in being excited by the prospect of being married to him and having a daughter with him, he just didn’t realize at the time how bad it could be.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
 _Earlier that day, at lunch with Yunho and Junsu, Taecyeon and Yoseob...._  
  
“Sit still, Lily-ah, you haven’t finished your lunch yet,” Yunho reminded gently when the little girl’s swinging legs inadvertently kicked him across the table one time too many. Yesung smiled an apology at the younger man. Yunho simply beamed back, then turned to Junsu for the nth time that day and -- while looking at his husband’s pregnant belly -- squealed happily, “We’re having a baby!” By this point in time, Junsu was tired of Yunho’s excessive energy, so he took Yunho’s sandwich and stuffed it in his face. Yunho chuckled good-naturedly and didn’t stop beaming.  
  
Yesung looked sidelong at his own husband, whose focus was entirely on Lily and not his food. In spite of being absolutely terrified and uncertain about his fathering abilities, Onew was doing rather well, Yesung thought. He still needed to push himself to actually interact with Lily, though, but any idiot could tell that Onew was otherwise very attentive to her needs.  
  
Lily put her sandwich down and felt around for her sippy-cup. Since the last time she had drunk from it, it had been passed around among the men so they could look at the cute Disney design, so it was no longer where she had left it. Yesung looked around to see where it had gone to.  
  
He didn’t need to do that, though, since Onew obviously had been paying attention. The younger man didn’t say anything as he reached out, grabbed the forgotten sippy-cup, and placed it where Lily’s searching hands would soon find it.  
  
Everyone else was too busy chatting to notice this small gesture, but Yesung caught it all. He wondered why Onew didn’t say anything, especially since not saying anything meant that Lily would never know that she was being to well looked-after.  
  
 _He should stop being so shy_ , Yesung thought while planning ways to get the two of them to be more comfortable together. _Then again, I’m no better when it comes to Jinki_.  
  
“So,” Taecyeon said, temporarily distracting Yesung from his plans. “Remind me again what everyone’s housing situations are?” The younger man smiled, amused as Onew grabbed a fork that Lily had accidentally knocked off the table and quickly put it back in place.  
  
“We’ve got the rooftop home with Hyung Joon and Kevin,” Junsu bragged, digging into the ice cream sundae he had managed to coerce Yunho into buying due to ‘cravings’.  
  
“ _Lucky_ ,” hissed Yoseob. “We’ve got an apartment somewhere, and we’ve got a little bit of money for stuff. What about you tw-, er, three?” he asked Onew and Yesung.  
  
“We have to find our own place,” Onew answered. “Although I don’t think that will be as difficult a task as it sounds like.” He looked over at Yesung hopefully. “One of the cordi-noonas has moved out of our building, so we might be able to rent out her old place so we won’t be too far from our groups.”  
  
“ _Brilliant!_ ” Yesung exclaimed, for indeed he thought it was brilliant, at the time. He hadn’t been looking forward to house-hunting, especially not with Lily in tow. He loved the girl, but he didn’t think she would appreciate having to endure all of the boring adult chit-chat. Yesung sure didn’t.  
  
So Yesung thought all would be well. They certainly had no trouble convincing management to let them have the apartment. In fact, they gave it to the couple for free, saying that it would be their reward for doing well on the show and bringing more revenue to the company.  
  
Yesung thought he couldn’t get any luckier, which he found he really couldn’t. Not that day, anyway.  
  
He felt everything was going smoothly when he convinced his SME friends to help him and Onew move their things into their new apartment. Everyone was happy and having fun. Onew was even enjoying himself, in spite of the fact that he was having to do one of his least favorite chores: moving. Lily was being handed around from friend to friend, being praised and doted on.  
  
Their parents even came to help, bringing sandwiches and chicken as a reward for everyone else. It was a rather comical scene, watching Yesung’s and Onew’s parents greet each other for the first time and being awkward with the fact that neither of their sons were daughters for convenience’s sake. They got over that quickly, though, and bonded easily while cuddling Lily.  
  
It was around that time that things quickly began to fall apart. Lily began to cry, for no apparent reason, and as everyone tried to diagnose what was wrong, her relatively quiet crying turned into screams.  
  
“Is she sick?” Yesung’s mother asked, touching her palm to Lily’s forehead. “The heat seems to be coming from her tantrum and not from sickness, though.”  
  
“Maybe she’s uncomfortable. Here, give her to me,” Onew’s dad offered.  
  
“Or maybe she doesn’t like me,” Jong Jin, Yesung’s younger brother, muttered sullenly as he handed Lily over to Onew’s dad.  
  
She just screamed louder. Her small hands came up to cover her ears.  
  
“What’s all this racket?” Yunho asked as he entered the apartment, having finished his portion of the filming.  
  
“Maybe she ate something bad!” Eunhyuk suggested loudly from the other end of the room, earning glares from the ‘grandparents’ who had supplied the food.  
  
“Maybe she just needs a nap,” Minho suggested wisely, petting her head in an attempt to calm her.  
  
“ _QUIET!!!_ ”  
  
Startled by the sudden outburst, everyone fell silent and turned to Onew. The only noise left in the room came from the screaming child.


	12. Good Idea

Onew couldn’t believe he had just rudely ordered everyone to be quiet.  
  
Truth be told, he had been just as flustered as everyone else when Lily had started crying. He felt he knew why she was crying, but he still doubted himself, telling himself that pretty much everyone else in the room had more experience with kids than he.  
  
But when she covered her ears, there was no doubt in Onew’s mind as to what the problem was: she was simply overwhelmed by all of the activity around her. The solution was obvious: get the activity to stop. But no one was stopping. Instead, they were all crowding her, making things worse with their fussing.  
  
So, in a panic, Onew voiced what he knew would help her.  
  
“ _QUIET!!!_ ”  
  
Everyone fell silent and stared at him. Embarrassed, and feeling like he should take responsibility, Onew made his way toward the screaming girl.  
  
“I think Minho’s right. She’s ready for a nap,” he explained to the crowd, apologizing for his rude outburst.  
  
To everyone’s surprise, when Onew got to his dad, he awkwardly motioned for the child. Carefully, his dad handed the screaming, squirming girl over.  
  
Onew’s only thought as he hurried Lily over to her new bedroom was _Don’t drop the baby. Don’t drop the baby. Don’t drop the baby...._  
  
Once he got inside the room and kicked the door closed, he hesitated, uncertain of how to deposit Lily gracefully onto the bed. He shifted on his feet a bit in indecisiveness. In the end, he finally decided to sit down on the bed, with Lily sitting sideways on his lap.  
  
He rocked her ever so gently, because even though sitting down gave him more confidence while holding her, he still didn’t want to take any chances with her safety. He didn’t bother to pull her hands away from her ears, since he figured it would help her feel more secure more quickly if he didn’t try to control her actions at the moment.  
  
A few minutes after they came to the room, she was still crying, but she was miraculously more quiet since the room was fairly quiet except for the faint sounds of conversation on the other side of the door. Her hands had left her ears. Eventually, her voice gave way to sporadic little hiccups and some sniffling. Onew dared to take a tissue to her nose, explaining beforehand what he was going to do. As soon as the tissue touched her face, though, she gave a little whine and wriggled in his arms. He had to abandon that mission for a moment just to make sure she didn’t fall off of his lap.  
  
He tried again, this time continuing to reassure her in a calm, gentle voice while he dabbed at her nose. She reached up to his hand and felt along his cool fingers. When he had disposed of the tissue, he let her continue to explore his hand. She pulled it to her face and sniffed, much like she had done that morning when he and Yesung introduced themselves to her. She leaned in toward his chest, and sniffed his clothes.  
  
“Nyu appa?” she guessed after a long while. ‘Nyu’ had been the best she could do when pronouncing his name that morning. Onew was impressed that she remembered that much. It was much better than Yoogeun had been able to do on Hello Baby in a similar amount of time. Also, she had just been passed around by at least two dozen people within the last hour. If that wasn’t enough to wipe her memory clean of his name, Onew didn’t know what was.  
  
And he didn’t want to know, either. He was exceptionally flattered that he seemed important enough to merit remembering his name. And he was really proud that she didn’t seem uncomfortable curled up in his arms.  
  
She pulled his hand to her face and had him cover her eyes and the side of her face. He was confused by this gesture, before he guessed, “Does my cool hand feel nice?”  
  
She nodded and leaned into his chest, finally relaxing. He brushed his fingers gently across her face, pausing on places that felt the warmest. Thinking of times when he’s tried to relax after a stressful situation, he began a soft massage around her eyes. He rubbed his thumb up and down the bridge of her nose, then proceeded push outward with his thumb and forefinger over her eyebrows. Within minutes, she was asleep.  
  
This posed a slight problem, since he still couldn’t figure out how to gracefully and safely deposit her onto her bed, especially not now when she could be woken by movement. So he just sat there, holding her as she slept.  
  
Fortunately for him, Yesung came in after a while and saved him by expertly (or so Onew thought) picking her up and laying her down once Onew had pulled the sheets up. After they both kissed her temple and whispered good night, they stole out of the room.  
  
“So, the guests are gone?” Onew asked quietly as they moved toward the living room to unpack a few more things.  
  
“Yep.”  
  
“And, our parents? Your parents? Oh God, did I offend your parents a lot? I hope I didn’t. Oh no...,” he worried.  
  
Yesung surprised him by taking a piece of chicken and stuffing it in his mouth to shut him up. “Don’t worry about it, Jinki-yah. They really liked you. They thought you did well with Lily. In fact, they want to treat us to dinner sometime when Lily is more rested. How’s that sound to you?”  
  
“Sounds good,” Onew said, relieved. “And your brother? He seemed sad when Lily was crying. He doesn’t think it’s his fault, does he?”  
  
“Hmmm, I wouldn’t be surprised if he does,” Yesung commented. He smiled sadly at Onew, “Unfortunately, we Kims are a bit clumsy. We tend to blame ourselves when something goes wrong. Jong Jin is the most careful of us all, so I think his mistakes hit him the hardest, even if it’s a small mistake.”  
  
“Well, he shouldn’t feel bad about what happened, because it wasn’t his fault.” Onew then proceeded to explain his theory about what had made Lily upset.  
  
“I mean, seriously, imagine if you were blind, and you were being passed from stranger to stranger. And not only that, but any child would feel intimidated in such a situation. I think the only reason why I had any success in calming her was because she remembered who I was, and that was just dumb luck that was working for me,” Onew ranted.  
  
“I don’t think it was just dumb luck,” Yesung said. “You’re a very peaceful person, and it was probably because you were so patient with her and waited for her to calm down that she trusted you. How long had you held her for, anyway? Half an hour?”  
  
Onew thought. “Yeah, about that long. I was so scared I’d drop her, so I didn’t move.”  
  
Yesung scooted behind where Onew was sitting, sorting out a box of things from his dorm. The older man gently massaged his shoulders. “It must have been difficult to hold still for that long, eh?”  
  
Onew hummed and relaxed, enjoying the display of affection that he rarely received, even from his group members. “I don’t know how moms do it,” he murmured, becoming sleepy. “I have the endurance to last hours of dancing, but I can barely handle holding a child for more than half an hour. How do they do it?”  
  
“Practice, practice, practice,” Yesung answered as Onew drifted off completely.


	13. Pepero

Quite frankly, they weren’t acting like a couple, in Yoseob’s opinion. The shopping and chit-chat they had done throughout the day proved to be more friendly than romantic. If put in a romantic context, though, it was like casual dating instead of being married. Yoseob remembered an interview with a WGM producer about canceling some couples because they treated the show as a date show and not as a marriage show.  
  
This gave Yoseob some hope, because he did regret his rash decision to continue with the show. The phone call from his parents when they heard this news a major nightmare.  
  
“Seobie! Why are you choosing to do this?” his mother had whined.  
  
“You better call this off, boy. This reflects poorly on the family, and we won’t stand by you for so long as you’re ‘married’ to that guy,” his father had warned.  
  
And Yoseob, unfortunately, lost his temper again. He couldn’t even remember what he had said, but he was pretty sure there was some swearing, and he may have called his mom something bad for the first time in his life. He hoped that when Doojoon whipped the phone out of his hand and pushed “end call” he had managed to hang up before he said that last thing.  
  
At any rate, he was seriously regretting all of this.  
  
He hoped that by not doing as much fan-service as was required to keep the viewer ratings up, he and Taecyeon might eventually be booted from the show. Hopefully that would happen before either he or Taecyeon got ‘pregnant’. That way, they would have done a minimal amount to promote the acceptance of homosexuality in South Korean society, and maybe he would be able to redeem his position within his own family by using a line like, “Don’t worry, I wasn't good as a gay man anyway.”  
  
But the fates would not have it that way. Just when Yoseob was ready to accept his plan of action, things began to get interesting. Interesting in a way that would keep the fans’ attention, that is.  
  
Taecyeon checked a text message. He’d been getting distracted a lot by texts during the day. Whenever Yoseob turned around to ask for an opinion about a shirt, he was reading a message. It was getting really annoying.  
  
There was a lull in the messaging when Taecyeon dragged him into a store that offered baby clothes and toys. Yoseob tried to resist going in there, preferring the incessant texting to encouraging discussions about having a baby. But dragged in he was, much to his dismay.  
  
“ _Kyaaa_! Look at these outfits! And these ones with the ruffles on the bottom. So _cute_!” Taecyeon squealed, flipping through a pile of one-piece newborn clothes like a person who’s just found a bargain price for a really expensive food.  
  
“Yeah yeah, but there’s no need to look for any clothes now. We won’t be having a baby for a long time,” Yoseob dismissed, trying to pull him away. _Or ever_ , he thought to himself.  
  
“Yes, well, we can be prepared, can’t we? And besides, I got a text from Kevin-sshi saying they’re going to throw a surprise baby-shower for Junsu, so we might as well get him something while we’re here, right?” argued Taecyeon.  
  
Yoseob sighed and surrendered. If he was being honest with himself, Yoseob would say he did enjoy looking at baby stuff. It made him feel all warm and gooey inside, just like any other fan girl. But he wasn’t honest. So he helped Taecyeon halfheartedly.  
  
Until they got to the shoes, that is. There was something about them that was just so irresistibly endearing and heart-breaking in a good way, and Yoseob was sure he was unable to hide how he felt about them from the camera. He fingered a pair of sock-slippers that resembled bunny slippers, and finally gave in and bought them.  
  
“See? I knew you’d find something,” Taecyeon nudged, swinging an arm over the younger man as they walked out of the store with their purchases.  
  
When they got to Taecyeon’s car, Yoseob thought filming was finished for the day. But when the cameramen made no move to remove the cameras in the car, he knew otherwise.  
  
“Er, where are we going?” Yoseob asked, suspicious when Taecyeon held the door open for him.  
  
“You’ll see,” was the cheeky answer.  
  
 _Oh no. He has a plan. And it’s probably not in line with my plan_ , Yoseob thought, dreading whatever was going to happen.  
  
His dread grew when Taecyeon tried to talk some more about their future baby.  
  
“I don’t really want to have any,” Yoseob said when asked how many he would want to have in real life. That was a lie. If he could, he would have at least two, maybe three.  
  
“But you have to,” Taecyeon protested. “At least tell me if you want a son or a daughter.”  
  
“It doesn’t really matter, anyway. God doesn’t let parents choose the gender, so why should we develop an opinion now?” Yoseob argued. _One boy and one girl_ , his mind supplied.  
  
Taecyeon tapped the wheel, obviously exasperated. “I heard during my backstage commentary that you didn’t think I could do the pregnancy experience. Why?” he asked, changing the topic slightly. “You said I was too manly for the task or something?”  
  
Yoseob sighed and gritted his teeth. “Yeah, it’s true isn’t it?” he said in a deceptively calm voice while pretending to look out the window. “And besides, why would you want to do it? It would damage your ‘tough-guy’ image.”  
  
“Oh really, _who cares_ about that?” Taecyeon shot back impatiently. “Seriously, I would be more than happy to do it if you wanted me to. No, actually, I _want_ to do it, if you’d let me.”  
  
Yoseob turned to stare at him in disbelief. “You want to do it? Why?”  
  
“You _don’t_ want to do it? Why not?” Taecyeon challenged.  
  
“Psht! Where do I begin? It’s difficult. It’s embarrassing for a man to do it. There’s no reason why I’d want a child so early in the marriage. I don’t see why we couldn’t just adopt if we really wanted a baby...,” Yoseob ticked off, listing a few more reasons before Taecyeon interrupted him.  
  
“But the ability for a man to have a baby is a miracle! It may be difficult, but babies are worth it. Hell, I would _kill_ to know what it’s like to give birth to a baby.”  
  
“You’re weird.”  
  
“Yep, and proud of it,” Taecyeon beamed, making Yoseob look away. After a few minutes of pause, Taecyeon wondered out loud, “What would our baby look like, if we combined our genes?”  
  
 _Stop talking about babies!_ Yoseob’s mind screeched. _You’re building up hype for something I don’t want to happen! You’re ruining my plan!_  
  
Yoseob just shrugged, and thankfully Taecyeon left it at that.  
  
For now.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
He brought it up again when they pulled in to a parking lot in a residential area that Yoseob wasn’t familiar with. The younger man rolled his eyes as he stepped out of the car and followed Taecyeon to a building.  
  
“Seriously, I can’t understand why you don’t want babies. They’re cute. And cuddly. And so sweet-”.  
  
“Yeah, especially when they throw up all over you. Or when you have to change their diapers all the time...”.  
  
Taecyeon rolled his eyes as Yoseob continued ranting. The younger man didn’t even stop when they passed through the crowd of fans at the front doors of an apartment building.  
  
“... or when they wake you up in the middle of the night. Don’t even get me started on how annoying they are when they’re toddlers,” Yoseob continued. He stopped abruptly when they stepped in front of an elevator. “Wait, where are we? Are we going to our apartment?” he asked.  
  
Taecyeon gave him a tight-lipped grin. “Yep.” There was something suspicious about him, though, like he was hiding a secret that Yoseob nearly guessed.  
  
“Oh,” was all Yoseob could say, since he couldn’t for the life of him guess what that secret was.  
  
The doors opened and they stepped inside with a cameraman. They were quiet for a bit, and Yoseob was just beginning to relax again, when Taecyeon said again, “Are you sure you don’t want kids? Seriously. I want you to be brutally honest with me.”  
  
“I’m sure,” Yoseob replied simply.  
  
Without warning, Taecyeon pushed him against a wall and grabbed his face, holding it still.  
  
“Maybe I should just rape you with a kiss,” the older man suggested as Yoseob tried in vain to break away from his strong grip.  
  
Yoseob’s eyes widened. He tried to growl “You wouldn’t dare,” angrily, but it came out muffled cutely, since his cheeks were being squished together and his lips could barely form words.  
  
“Oh, wouldn’t I?” Taecyeon challenged in a low, dangerous voice. His face began to creep closer, and he kept Yoseob’s gaze like a snake entrancing its prey.  
  
Yoseob gulped in fear. His heart began pounding quickly as Taecyeon inched even closer, and Yoseob’s terrified mind began to muddle together his escape plans and scenarios involving himself being forced to wear a pregnancy suit.  
  
Taecyeon suddenly swooped his head in. Yoseob’s eyes snapped shut as he screeched in the back of his throat.  
  
...  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Yoseob peeked his eyes open and saw Taecyeon was really close, staring at him. Their noses were almost touching, and he could feel the older man’s breath on his face. Yoseob was still panicking, but Taecyeon wasn’t doing anything, so he began to wonder if the kiss-rape was really going to happen.  
  
Apparently it wasn’t, since Taecyeon quickly released Yoseob’s face and leaned away. He bowed apologetically to him, “You’re right. I wouldn’t. Rape is bad, and I shouldn’t have even joked about it. Sorry.”  
  
Yoseob let out the breath he was holding. “Er, it’s okay,” he said, still flustered and not thinking properly. They reached the fifth floor and stepped out. He was so out of it, he didn’t process the people without cameras scrambling to the door of the apartment that was theirs, or Taecyeon glaring in their direction.  
  
Therefore he was really surprised when all of Beast and 2PM jumped out at him from the doorway, shouting “Surprise!”  
  
“Seriously, Hyung, we barely made it inside. You didn’t see us?” Dongwoon asked as Yoseob tried to calm his startled heart.  
  
“No. There have been too many surprises today,” Yoseob muttered under his breath, glaring at his husband. Again, Taecyeon just smiled.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
“Let’s raise our glasses for some toasts, shall we?” Junsu proposed when they had mostly finished eating the meal that 2PM and Beast made as part of their house-warming gift.  
  
They all raised their paper cups filled with soju. “A toast to our friends who kindly set up our home and gave us gifts,” Taecyeon said.  
  
 _The place is still pretty sparse, but I must say, I am rather pleased with how clean everything is, considering my group members_ , Yoseob thought as he knocked back a swig of soju.  
  
“A toast to new brothers!” Doojoon announced. Everyone cheered as they filled their cups again and drank up happily.  
  
“A toast to Taecyeon and his ‘wife’!” Hyunseung shouted to everyone’s amusement, and Yoseob’s embarrassment. Junsu, who had been the one to initiate the prank call on the first evening of their marriage, tapped his cup with Hyunseung’s in cheers.  
  
“Hey now...”, Taecyeon warned, noticing that Yoseob was uncomfortable. “Don’t you be calling him the wife. We’re both men, so we’re ‘partners’.”  
  
“Whatever,” was the general response.  
  
“Cheers to the lovely young couple! May their marriage be long and... fruitful,” Junho sniggered.  
  
“ _Here here!_ ” shouted everyone else, laughing raucously.  
  
Yoseob glared at Taecyeon, who was staring innocently around the table before catching his eye. “You told them, _didn’t_ you,” he accused the older man.  
  
“I have no idea what you mean,” Taecyeon replied, the small twitch at the side of his mouth belying his guilt.  
  
“I have a proposal!” Doojoon began.  
  
“Oh really? Who’s the lucky guy?” Junhyung shot back, getting an elbow from his hyung in return.  
  
“Not _that_ kind of proposal,” he growled. “I meant in terms of a game. How about we all play the pepero game?”  
  
Before Yoseob and Taecyeon could protest, everyone else agreed. Kikwang stood up and shuffled to a cabinet in the kitchen, taking out an unopened box of pepero sticks.  
  
“ _Kiki_ ,” Yoseob warned as he sat down next to him while opening the box.  
  
“Oh come on Seobie,” Kikwang whined while picking at the top lid to rip it open. “We can’t help it if we all want to become uncles as soon as possible.”  
  
“ _Kiki!_ ” a bunch of male voices protested.  
  
“I _knew_ it!” shouted Yoseob, turning to glare at Taecyeon, who was belatedly trying to scoot away from him.  
  
“What?” Kikwang asked everyone innocently, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just revealed that everyone knew about what kisses meant on the show.  
  
“Hey! Get back here! _Come back so I can kill you!_ ”  
  
“ _Damn_ , this box sure is difficult to open...”.  
  
Taecyeon squealed as Yoseob caught up to him and started pummeling him (Softly, of course. He didn’t actually want to hurt the guy.).  
  
“Here, I’ll open it. I’ve got nails,” Doojoon offered.  
  
“ _Gaaaaah!!!!_ ”  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
“Seobie, stop that!”  
  
“It’s open!”  
  
“‘Seobie’?! Who said you could call me that, huh?!”  
  
“Guys! Come back! Time to play!”  
  
“No! Never!”  
  
“Oh, for... all right guys, let’s get them back here.”  
  
There was pandemonium as both Beast and 2PM scrambled to bring Taecyeon and Yoseob back to the table and force them to sit down.  
  
“Okay! So...” Doojoon announced once they were back to being relatively peaceful again. “I think it can be assumed that you two will be partners in this,” he nodded to Taecyeon and Yoseob. They nodded hesitantly back. “How shall we partner the rest?”  
  
“How about we partner up according to our rank within the group by age, with the corresponding member of the opposite group?” Junsu suggested.  
  
Everyone agreed. Thus, Junsu and Doojoon were paired together, Nichkhun with Hyunseung, Wooyoung with Junhyung, Junho with Kikwang, and Chansung with Dongwoon.  
  
“Fine, but you all have to go first,” Yoseob demanded sullenly.  
  
“Okay? Deal?” Doojoon asked the rest of the men. Everyone nodded. “Alright, it’s a deal.”  
  
Junsu picked up a stick and fluttered his eyes at the leader of Beast. “Shall we?” he murmured seductively.  
  
Doojoon played along. “Oh yes, Junsu-hyung. I’ve been waiting my whole life,” he said, grabbing the older man’s shirt and pulling him in so they could simultaneously take the stick into their teeth.  
  
“Oh _God_ , you guys,” Yoseob complained, letting his head fall frustratedly into his hands. Thus, he didn’t see how Doojoon and Junsu’s round went.  
  
“Really Doojoon-ah? _That’s_ the measure of your love?” Junsu pouted, holding up the inch that was left of the stick.  
  
Nichkhun and Hyunseung also did a sappy show during their turn, making it impossible again for Yoseob to watch. Half an inch was left on their’s.  
  
In spite of the overall awfulness of the situation, Yoseob couldn’t help but be curious about how Junhyung would deal with this situation, since he had been the most uncomfortable of the Beast members with the idea of homosexuality and any display of it. He watched as the older man reluctantly leaned forward to take an end of the stick. Wooyoung was the one to inch forward while Junhyung held still, but in spite of it all, Junhyung bit off his end when the 2PM member was only three inches away.  
  
Yoseob was also curious to watch how Kikwang would handle his turn. Before he focused on him, though, he looked around at the other Beast members and noticed that almost all of them were staring a bit too intently at him as well. Hyunseung and Dongwoon watched with excitement, no doubt planning on teasing Kikwang later in the dorm. Doojoon looked more nervous than excited. He’s probably worried about how Kikwang’s feelings might be affected, Yoseob thought as he turned his gaze away. He looked at Junhyung, who was pointedly ignoring everything and pouring himself another shot of soju. He locked eyes with Yoseob and lifted the bottle, offering the younger man some. He accepted.  
  
Kikwang shyly took in his end of the chocolate covered stick after consulting with Junho about how to proceed. Apparently, the plan was for Junho to hold still while Kikwang closed the gap. By the time they got to be one inch apart, he slowed down and proceeded carefully. Both men stretched their lips into an awkward grin in an attempt to not make contact as they came closer.  
  
Yoseob realized later that everyone else in the room had subconsciously leaned in to catch a better glimpse of the two, to see if their lips ever made contact.  
  
Some of the men wanted to claim that their lips touched in the end, but Yoseob and the cameras could verify that they didn’t. Surprisingly, a little bit less than half an inch was left of their pepero sticks.  
  
And as for Kikwang’s reaction to all of this.... Yoseob hadn’t noticed anything to indicate a sudden awkwardness that came from a gay man being near another very attractive man. He looked at the others to gauge their reactions. Hyunseung and Dongwoon were satisfied, since there would definitely be something to gossip about later. Doojoon still looked nervous, but also relieved that it was over.  
  
And Junhyung was still indifferent. Yoseob got offered another cup of soju.  
  
Dongwoon and Chansung’s round was mercilessly short. They had accidentally taken their ends of the stick into their mouths before they were properly settled. Dongwoon’s end snapped before they could even start.  
  
“About four inches!” Hyunseung announced immediately. “And now for the newlyweds!” Everyone turned to them eagerly.  
  
A whole stream of curses crossed Yoseob’s mind as he turned to Taecyeon. Instead of voicing his discomfort, he simply made one last demand of the two groups. “I’d appreciate it if everyone were on the other side of this table,” he said, glaring at Dongwoon who was smiling too innocently behind his back. He shot a glare at Junho, who was suspiciously peering over Taecyeon’s shoulder and being too close for comfort.  
  
Once everyone was on the other side of the table, and thus sufficiently far enough away that Yoseob was sure he and Taecyeon wouldn’t be shoved together at the last moment, Yoseob relaxed and looked toward his partner. Before taking his end of the stick, he took one last swig of soju.  
  
They moved slowly; Taecyeon had obviously learned from the last kiss attempt that moving too quickly would make Yoseob panic. When Yoseob was only halfway down his half of the stick, though, the younger man stopped, fully intending to  bite off if Taecyeon made any sudden moves.  
  
Taecyeon crept forward, and when their noses were about to touch, Yoseob made ready to bite.  
  
In a stroke of very bad timing, the soju chose that moment to kick in and have an effect on Yoseob’s body. Thoroughly distracted, Yoseob forgot to bite and instead focused on keeping his balance.  
  
He failed.


	14. Voting Time for My Readers!

Dear Readers,  
  
When I finish writing Part 3 of this series, I will stop writing as if I am jumping from one character to the next, and I will focus exclusively on individual couples instead. Don’t worry, though, I’ll write about the other couples as well. I’m just finding it a bit difficult to change my mentality so often to suit all of the different characters, is all.  
  
So, what I would like for you -- my dear Readers -- to do is to let me know who you would like me to focus on first when I’m done writing Part 3. Below is a list of the different couples. And again, I _will_ get around to writing about the other couples, so don’t worry.  
  
You have until May 1st to make your vote. I will tally all of them at that time and do as the majority asks.  
  
I’m also posting this story on livejournal, so I will be getting votes from there, too, just so you know.  
  
  
 **Which couple would you like me to write about first?**  
  
 **Alhyun:** Alex Chu and Big Bang’s TOP (Choi Seunghyun)  
  
 **Onsung:** Shinee’s Onew (Lee Jinki) and Super Junior’s Yesung (Kim Jongwoon)  
  
 **Mustache Couple/G.O.ri:** Gagwoman Jung Juri and MBLAQ’s G.O. (Jung Byunghee)  
  
 **Sunshine/Hosu:** DBSK’s Jung Yunho and JYJ/DBSK’s Kim Junsu  
  
 **Seungsung:** Solo singer Lee Seunggi and Big Bang’s Kang Daesung  
  
 **Joonvin:** SS501’s Kim Hyung Joon and U-KISS’s Kevin Wu  
  
 **Aegyo/Okseob:** 2PM’s Ok Taecyeon and Beast’s Yang Yoseob  
  
  
For those of you wondering if more than one vote is okay: it is. I just need a sense of which couples you most enjoy reading about. If you want to list everyone in order from favorite to least favorite, 1 to 7, you may do so.  
  
You may also change your vote before May 1st if one of the couples grows on you by then.

 

 

~gigglemayhem

 

P.S. If anyone has ideas along the way of what the couples should be named (ex. Mustache Couple, Sunshine Couple, ...), please comment. In the real WGM show, sometimes the couples are named by the Netizens/viewers, and since you readers are essentially the Netizens/viewers of my version of the show, I think it's only fitting that you get to have your vote. Any ideas?


	15. Inaccurate Calculations

“Seobie! Please open up!” Taecyeon pleaded while knocking on the door.  
  
“Stop calling me ‘Seobie’! We’re not that close yet!” the younger man protested on the other side, accompanied by the sound of water running through a tap.  
  
Taecyeon rolled his eyes. “Sorry, _Yoseob-sshi_ , but would you please let me in?”  
  
“... No,” he replied stubbornly.  
  
Taecyeon banged his forehead on the door and rested it there, thoroughly frustrated. He wasn’t even sure what had happened. There were three possibilities that he could think of: (1) he subconsciously wanted to kiss Yoseob and therefore had leaned in the rest of the way during their round of the pepero game, (2) he had a poor judge of distance and/or aim and therefore he made that mistake, or (3) Yoseob had initiated the kiss.  
  
There was no way in hell that it was the third option. Yoseob had made it very clear from the start that he had no desire to do anything like that with Taecyeon. It stung Taecyeon’s pride a little that he would be so repulsed by him, but he kept trying to reassure himself that it was just the show making Yoseob exaggerate his rejection of the older man.  
  
Unwillingly, the memory of his encounter with Yoseob’s parents sprang to mind. _It isn’t just the show_ , Taecyeon thought to himself. _They’re probably making Seobie -- no, Yoseob-sshi -- really uncomfortable_.  
  
He sighed, worried again. Even though he was really happy that Yoseob decided to do the show in the end, he was worried that perhaps he had pressured the younger man into doing something that would ruin his life in the end. Taecyeon didn’t want that for him.  
  
 _He shouldn’t have to sacrifice his life for me, not even if we were in love in real life._  
  
Taecyeon moved on to thinking about option two: the possibility of a bad judge of distance. That had rarely been a problem in his life, especially since he was good at sports and had no problem judging the distance between himself and his goal. His goal this time had been slightly less than half an inch away from Yoseob’s lips, and while that gave him very little space to work with, he was confident in his abilities anyway.  
  
He didn’t consider the option that he did it intentionally for long. He wasn’t stupid and would definitely not force Yoseob to do anything he didn’t want to (although he would admit that the scene in the elevator proved that he was a bit of a hypocrite), so he was sure he hadn’t intentionally leaned in for a kiss. A desire of that magnitude hadn’t overwhelmed him at the time.  
  
But then again, he did remember himself wondering for a fleeting moment what Yoseob’s lips would feel like on his own. He shook his head, dispelling that thought.  
  
Taecyeon reviewed the scenarios once more really quickly in his head, and finally decided he had simply had a lapse in judgement in terms of distance. He raised his fist to knock again, ready to catch Yoseob’s attention and apologize for his mistake.  
  
The door whipped open, and once Yoseob saw Taecyeon leaning against the door frame, he slammed it shut again.  
  
Taecyeon was not surprised. He sighed again and resigned himself to waiting again. It wasn’t long, though, before the proverbial light bulb went off in his head.  
  
 _God I’m so stupid_ , he thought as he twisted the doorknob and pushed. _But Yoseob’s stupid to leave the door unlocked, so I guess we’re even, right?_  
  
Yoseob didn’t let him get in easily, just as Taecyeon was expecting. The older man braced the door with his body so it wouldn’t crush his toes or fingers. He misjudged Yoseob’s strength, though, and ended up with the doorknob wedged slightly to the left and above his hips, and the edge of the door connecting along the central meridian line of his body.  
  
And that line included his crotch region. _Ouch_.  
  
He saw Yoseob’s eyes widen, immediately realizing what he had done. “I’m sorry!” he squeaked, freezing because he didn’t know how to redeem the situation.  
  
 _Fuck, fuck, fuck!_ his mind screamed in agony as he tried to remember words and phrases that didn’t include swear words. He ended up growling “Let me in” in a not entirely calm voice. Yoseob timidly stepped back, and Taecyeon entered and closed the door behind him, securing the lock in the process.  
  
He reached up and turned off the camera that had been placed in corner of the bathroom. He indicated for Yoseob to turn off the microphone wedged in his back pocket. Yoseob complied hesitantly.  
  
Then, Taecyeon reached into his front pants pocket and whipped out a pen and a small pad of paper.  
  
 _I’m sorry_ , he wrote. _I think I had a bad sense of distance back there. I honestly didn’t mean to make lip-contact with you._  
  
He handed it over to the younger man, who read it quietly.  
  
 _You are sort of forgiven_ , Yoseob wrote back. _You will be fully forgiven if you take responsibility for all of it by doing the pregnancy experience if Na PD-nim says we’ve conceived. Or by granting me a wish if you’d rather we got a surrogate mother_.  
  
Taecyeon smiled grimly. _I’ll carry the baby_ , he decided. _Although, I already said I’d do it anyway, even if you did agree to having a kid with me. Because I feel so sorry about forcing you to do this with me, you may ask something of me if the kiss fails to make me pregnant. Sound good?_  
  
Yoseob read it quickly, and nodded at the older man. Then, with a puzzled expression, Yoseob wrote, _Why are we writing instead of talking?_  
  
 _Cameras outside can hear us even without the microphones_ , Taecyeon explained. _And we’ve got the chips in our phones, remember? If we texted, the filmers would know. I have no idea how to take out the darn things anyway without help. This is a sensitive situation, so I wanted us to discuss quietly._  
  
 _And writing on paper isn’t definite proof of our discussion?_ Yoseob asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
 _We can tear it up and flush it down the toilet._  
  
 _Oh._  
  
Taecyeon went on to apologize for earlier, _I feel like I’ve been making mistakes all day today, and have been talking about them with you in public when it should have been private. I didn’t mean to scare you earlier in the elevator, too. Sorry._  
  
 _Hmmm... You owe me for the elevator incident. But then again, maybe we’re already even on that. Sorry about your... um..._ Yoseob flicked a glance down to Taecyeon’s groin.  
  
Taecyeon’s sunny smile crept back. _That’s okay. I won’t be needing them for a while._  
  
Yoseob snorted in laughter.  
  
“Oi! Lover-boys! What’s going on in there?” shouted Nichkhun’s voice from the other side of the door, startling both men. “Surely you aren’t having sex...?”  
  
“We’re having a mini-conference in here. We’ll be out shortly. Go entertain the cameras, will you?” Taecyeon requested dismissively, waving his hand in the air as if Nichkhun could see him shooing him away from the other side of the door.  
  
“Well, hurry up. The assistant director has already checked with Na PD-nim, and they say that _definitely_ counted as a kiss. We’re all waiting for you two to come here and see if it worked.”  
  
 _Oh boy_ , Taecyeon thought as he watched Yoseob fidget unhappily. “We’ll be out shortly,” Taecyeon repeated.  
  
 _You sure you’re okay with this?_ Yoseob wrote. Taecyeon didn’t miss the hopeful expression on his face.  
  
He nodded, much to the younger man’s relief. Finished with their conversation, they both ripped out the note papers and tore them into tiny pieces, flushing them down before stepping out with their microphones on.  
  
“Hey! Welcome back. We’ve just arm wrestled each other for the honor of rolling the dice,” Nichkhun grinned, pointing to Chansung happily shaking the dice in his hand. The married couple grimaced, but obediently sat down anyway to await their fate.  
  
“ _Come on_ dice, make me an uncle!” Chansung begged, shaking his hand vigorously in preparation of throwing the dice. Everyone held their breaths, especially Taecyeon and Yoseob.  
  
When Chansung threw the dice, there was a mad dash to get the first glimpse. Everyone crowded in, blocking the camera’s view.  
  
“It’s spinning! It’s spinning!” Wooyoung chanted eagerly.  
  
“Yah! Don’t jostle the table!” Junhyung complained to no one in particular.  
  
Kikwang let out a high pitched squeal that indicated the last dice was about to settle.  
  
There was complete silence for a moment, then a loud groan of dismay.  
  
“ _Snake eyes!_ ” complained many of the men. Some expressed their disappointment by simply punching Chansung’s shoulder instead.  
  
Taecyeon and Yoseob both let out a sigh of relief.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
Thankfully, the filming concluded without any more upsetting instances. Once they had all returned their microphones and phone chips, they exited the apartment together.  
  
Before they stepped out of the lobby to separate ways, Taecyeon pulled Yoseob aside to talk with him privately.  
  
“Um, Seo-, I mean, Yoseob-sshi,” Taecyeon began, his mind going temporarily blank when Yoseob looked at him expectantly. “Er, since I made such a mess of things today, do you think it might be a good idea for us to meet regularly between episodes so we can talk and make sure we... er... _I_ don’t do anything stupid again?” he asked. Taecyeon hated how -- given the circumstances surrounding the question -- it sounded like he was asking Yoseob to go out on dates with him. Yoseob seemed to be thinking the same thing, based on the blush and general awkwardness he was emitting.  
  
To Taecyeon’s relief, though, the younger man ignored the unintended suggestion and agreed to his voiced request.  
  
“Oh, and Taecyeon-sshi,” Yoseob said shyly once they had started walking toward the doors, “you may call me ‘Seobie’ if you’d like. Since we’re going to be getting more familiar with each other outside of the show, that is,” he babbled.  
  
 _Oh thank God, he’s opening up a bit_ , Taecyeon thought, relieved beyond all reason. “Okay,” he responded equally shyly. “And you may call me ‘hyung’, if you’d like... _Seobie_.”  
  
“Alright, _hyung-nim_.”


	16. Pepero Aftermath

They were back in their dorm. Everyone except Doojoon and Junhyung were crowded on the top bunks, chattering away before they had to sleep. Dongwoon and Hyunseung were in the midst of teasing Kikwang and getting him to confess which Beast member he really liked when Kikwang decided it was time to change the subject.  
  
“So, Seobie, about that kiss,” Kikwang butted in, thoroughly tired of the conversation about his own interests.  
  
Yoseob groaned and turned to face the wall.  
  
That was enough to get the conversation away from Kikwang, much to Yoseob’s dismay. Yoseob blushed and whipped his pillow out from under himself to cover his own face, not wanting to face reality.  
  
“Hey hey hey! No backing out of this conversation!” Hyunseung cackled gleefully. “We all saw it. What was it like, kissing a man?”  
  
“What was it like kissing _Taecyeon_ -hyung,” corrected Dongwoon, as if specifying made a difference.  
  
Yoseob whimpered. He felt Kikwang’s arm wrap around his waist, and the younger man’s breath on his ear as he whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “Don’t deny it. We all saw you leaning in for that kiss.”  
  
“I was drunk! It made me dizzy at a very bad time!” Yoseob whined, mortified to know that everyone knew it had obviously been his fault.  
  
“Yeah _right_. And I’m a gay man!” Junhyung yelled sarcastically from the bunk below. The others also voiced their disbelief.  
  
 _This is exactly why I had hoped it would look like Taecyeon-sshi’s -- wait, no, Taecyeon-’hyung’s’ -- fault. It hardly means anything to him if he takes the blame. That infuriating man can make anything seem normal. But if everyone knows it was me, there’s no reaction I could give to make them stop teasing me and making a big deal of it, like they are now._  
  
Then Yoseob gasped as the dreaded realization sunk in. _If my band mates could see that it was my fault, then the 2PM guys could probably see it was my fault also. Oh God, if Taecyeon-hyung finds out I’ll be so screwed! I’ll never hear the end of it...._  
  
 _I'll owe him big time for this...._  
  
Yoseob let out a muffled scream and clutched the pillow to his head in agony.  
  
“Uh, I think we broke him,” Kikwang announced, shifting away.  
  
“ _You_ broke him,” Hyunseung corrected. Then, picking up on an earlier train of conversation, Hyunseung began, “ _So_ , Kiki, about that guy you like...”.


	17. Scenic Drive

“Do you think we should do a collaboration album together?” Seunggi suggested hopefully as they walked away from the boardwalk toward the car. “We could do pop, ballads, trot songs, jazz... whatever you’d like.”  
  
Daesung hopped excitedly on his feet. “Wah! Jazz! Definitely jazz. And maybe even some other foreign styles, too...”.  
  
The first few hours in Jeju were harmonious, peaceful, lovely... everything Daesung liked in a vacation. They had played at a few beaches along the way to their hotel and dined at a restaurant that Seunggi and his friends from 2D1N ate at on a previous visit. Seunggi was rather talkative, which Daesung was grateful for. The last time they had been together, it was difficult to think of anything to say to each other, and both quickly gave up and let Alex and TOP lead the discussion. Now that they were alone, though, Seunggi seemed to be on a roll with conversation topics, eventually getting Daesung to open up.  
  
It was all very perfect, in Daesung’s opinion.  
  
Until Seunggi claimed to be tired, that is.  
  
“Daesung-ah,” Seunggi said, having dropped the formal language long ago, “I’m feeling a little bit tired. Would you be willing to drive for a while?”  
  
“S-sure,” replied Daesung uncertainly. He wiped his suddenly sweaty hands before accepting the key Seunggi offered.  
  
 _It’s okay_ , he told himself. _I’m alert. I’ve practiced driving plenty of times since the accident. I even took a special course to make sure I knew everything. I haven’t had a single accident in four years._  
  
 _I’ll be fine._  
  
Daesung took his time adjusting things in the car anyway so he could have a few moments to pray and calm his mind.  
  
 _Oh God, please don’t let me screw things up. And please don’t make me do this alone_ , he pleaded, feeling entirely put on the spot.  
  
Insofar as Daesung could currently tell, God had answered the latter prayer; even though Seunggi was tired and not alert enough to drive, he was awake enough to keep the younger man engaged in a conversation. They talked more about what they had been talking about previously on the plane and in the car: likes, dislikes, friends, childhood memories, things they would like to do together....  
  
“So, since having a kid is an option...,” Seunggi began, trailing off to see what Daesung’s reaction would be like.  
  
“Ah,” Daesung said. He swallowed hard and his eyes shifted awkwardly, but despite his apparent discomfort, he answered honestly, “I’m not confident with kids, but I’m willing to try. If you want to, that is.”  
  
“Great!” cheered Seunggi, fist-pumping the air above his reclined position. Then he got serious. “But, uh, we _can_ take it slow, if that would make you feel more comfortable. Not too slow, though. I would like us to have a baby before our time on the show ends, anyway.”  
  
“It shouldn’t be too hard to do,” Daesung said, smiling slightly. “Just a kiss, that’s all.”  
  
The younger man sighed internally. _Na PD-nim read my mind, that naughty man. What I wouldn’t give for a kiss, especially from Seunggi-hyung. It probably wouldn’t be anything major like I’d want, but even a small peck would be nice...._  
  
 _Darn it, Daesung-ah! Don’t be such a kiss-whore! That’s what got you in that relationship that wasn’t really a relationship with Jiyong-hyung in the first place. Just because you’re alone does not mean it’s okay to sell yourself out for kisses._  
  
He took a deep breath to calm his emotions again, then brought up the second awkward point of the baby-talk, “I don’t think I should be the one carrying the baby, though. In case you haven’t notice, I’m a bit accident-prone.” He quickly looked in his rearview mirror in case an accident suddenly appeared because of what he said. The car behind him seemed rather close, so he remained cautious.  
  
“If we got a surrogate mother, would that be okay?” Seunggi asked. “I mean, I’m not too keen on being ‘pregnant’ myself. Sorry.”  
  
“That’s understandable,” Daesung mumbled, slightly distracted by an owl circling overhead. “Na PD-nim said there were a few surrogate mothers available. Do you think we get to choose who does it?”  
  
“Who knows,” said Seunggi, sitting up to look out the front window curiously. “Knowing Na-hyung, he’ll make a game out of it, possibly make it spontaneous... Is that owl holding something?”  
  
“I don’t know. I’m a bit busy making sure this guy behind me doesn’t rear-end me. He’s too close.”  
  
“Uh, Daesung-ah,” Seunggi said with a tremor of fear in his voice. He barely managed to say “ _stop the car_ ” before something small, brown, and fluffy fell onto the windshield of the car, scaring Daesung shitless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And thus we have our first character death!
> 
> Just kidding. Bad joke, sorry. I would never do that to Daesung. Or to Seunggi for that matter. Or even to the small, brown, fluffy thing that will be a big part of their story.
> 
> Aaaaand I’m not feeling evil today. The next chapter will be up shortly!


	18. Nightmare

“ _Oh God!_ ” Daesung shouted as he slammed on the brakes. Seunggi’s hands whipped out to clutch at the dashboard and brace himself for the stop. He didn’t realize he had completely phased out for a full minute from the shock of everything until he felt Daesung slapping his face, shouting at him.  
  
“Yah! Hyung! Can you hear me? Are you hurt? Yah!” Seunggi blinked, and looked curiously at the hands touching him, checking to see if he was okay. “You’re fine,” Daesung concluded after a brief inspection.  
  
Then he whipped out of the car.  
  
Still sluggish from the impact, but regaining his senses nonetheless, Seunggi thought to step out of the car himself. He stood up carefully and braced himself on the side of the car when his legs wobbled.  
  
The young lady who had driven the truck behind them also stepped out. Fortunately she had not rear-ended them like Daesung had feared would happen.  
  
“What the _fuck_ do you think you’re doing? You could have gotten us ki- _Ohmygodit’sKangDaesung!_ ” she squealed, transitioning instantaneously from angry driver to fan girl.  
  
Seunggi’s head hurt, whether from whiplash or the girl’s screechy voice, he didn’t know.  
  
“ _OhmygodcanIhaveanautograph?_ ” Seunggi rolled his eyes and started inching around toward the other side.  
  
He became rather alarmed when Daesung dropped suddenly. “ _Daesung-sshiwhatareyoudoing!_ ”  
  
“Daesung-ah!” Seunggi exclaimed, worried.  
  
“ _Ohmygodit’sLeeSeunggi! I’msuchabigfan! Ohmygodohmygodohmygod...!_ ”  
  
Seunggi finally stumbled around to the other side and saw Daesung was on his hands and knees, looking under the car.  
  
“Daesung-ah? What are you doing?” Seunggi asked, ignoring the girl who was fluttering around them.  
  
“It rolled off the front when I hit the brakes, and we skidded over it,” Daesung said shakily, scooting back on all fours to look under the girl’s truck as well.  
  
“What did?”  
  
“The rabbit. The owl dropped a rabbit.”  
  
The older man rolled his eyes and thought, _Forget the rabbit. We should check to make sure our car’s okay, we should go to the hospital to deal with my headache in case it’s from whiplash. We should probably check you up, too. The rabbit’s probably dead anyway._  
  
Seunggi was really glad he hadn’t said any of this out loud, because as soon as he got a good look at Daesung’s batshit-scared face a moment later, he got down on all fours himself and started looking with him.  
  
While Daesung was looking around the tires, Seunggi noticed the bunny a few feet behind the girl’s car, limp-hopping toward the grass. He stood up and walked toward it, then sprinted when he saw the owl swooping down again.  
  
He yelled at the bird, flapping his arms frantically and finally convincing it that it didn’t want to be involved with the annoying land-creatures any longer.  
  
Once the owl was gone, Seunggi had no idea what to do. The poor rabbit was frozen in spot, covered in bloody scratches, screaming in that awful way that only rabbits are capable of doing. He heard a muffled scream from beside him and saw Daesung had finally caught up to him, and was seeing the same thing that the older man was seeing.  
  
“Oh, no, not again,” he choked out.  
  
Seunggi didn’t think and just pulled him in, turning him around so he wouldn’t be looking at what he had just hit.  
  
“ _Ew_ ,” said the girl. Finally noticing the girl’s presence, Seunggi watched as she curled her nose at the rabbit, walked to the side of the road, picked up a stick, and moved to poke the rabbit aside.  
  
“Oi! _Back off!_ ” Seunggi yelled, startling her. “Is your truck damaged? Are you hurt?” he drilled.  
  
“N-no?”  
  
“Well then move along! I’ve got a hysterical man, a bleeding rabbit, and a god-awful headache, and I can’t deal with one more disturbance unless it’s my business! And since you just admitted to not having anything to do with this situation, I would appreciate it if you would move on so I can deal with the current problems,” he snapped.  
  
It was about this time the filming crew that had been following after them caught up. Fortunately for Seunggi, who still had no idea what to do, the other crew members did. They managed to convince the girl to move along (after getting a scribble of an autograph from both of the singers, though), finally leaving them to deal with Daesung.  
  
Seunggi thought of asking one of the drivers to take Daesung on to the hotel while he dealt with everything else, but then a better idea occurred to him. He pulled Daesung back to their car and helped him to sit in the back seat. Then, he opened the trunk and pulled out the old T-shirt he usually wore at night.  
  
A few people were crowded around the still-frozen rabbit, trying to decide on the best course of action.  
  
“Excuse me, noonim? Would you help me?”” Seunggi asked an older woman who didn’t look as freaked out about the rabbit as the rest. She agreed, thankfully enough, and helped him to nudge the terrified creature onto the cloth.  
  
The rabbit started screaming again and nibbled furiously on the cloth when he picked it up. Seunggi instructed the group of people -- the woman in particular -- to look up where a nearby vet was as he walked back to his rented car. He kicked on the door, and Daesung opened it for him.  
  
The younger man froze in fear when he saw what Seunggi was holding. Seunggi deposited the cloth-wrapped bunny onto Daesung’s lap.  
  
“It’s the _owl’s_ fault that the rabbit is this way, not _yours_ ,” Seunggi reminded him firmly when Daesung turned his wide eyes to him in question. “So I need you to stop being scared about your involvement in all of this and focus on comforting the rabbit instead.”  
  
Daesung nodded jerkily and turned his focus back to the rabbit. Seunggi closed the door and walked around. The woman who had helped him came up to him and gave him directions to the nearest vet, and he quickly climbed into the driver’s seat and drove.  
  
Seunggi could barely hear Daesung’s sniffling, and when he looked in the rearview mirror, he could see that the younger man was struggling to think of how to comfort the bunny, petting it’s head hesitantly.  
  
“Perhaps you should sing to it,” Seunggi suggested. When Daesung didn’t do anything, he asked, “I’m not religious, but do you know that one song... ‘Pie Jesu’ or something?”  
  
He began to wonder if he had broken Daesung, when the younger man finally got a hold of himself. Daesung started to sing the song, and when the harmony part came in, Seunggi hummed along, even though he didn’t know the words himself.  
  
Singing did a wonder of good for both Daesung and the rabbit. Daesung calmed down considerably, and became more confident the more he sang, which was what Seunggi had hoped would happen. The rabbit, in spite of being among strangers and suffering from scratches from the owl’s claws, had stopped screaming and biting, and was actually relaxing enough to fall asleep from exhaustion.  
  
By the time they reached the vet’s office, Seunggi was sure everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I’m sorry if anyone is uncomfortable with my mention of religious stuff in these last two chapters, but I figured if religion is important enough to Daesung to have helped him through that accident a year ago, it most certainly would be something he would depend on during this crisis I created for him.
> 
> I feel like I need to include one more chapter, to leave Daesung, Seunggi, and their new rabbit friend in a better place in the story before I declare Part 3 done. Expect more tomorrow!


	19. Bunny Kisses

Daesung hid his face in the warm water of the pool in the public bath-house, trying to cover up the fact that he had been crying. Of all times, he was grateful that there were no cameras around right now. He had suffered enough embarrassment.  
  
Today had _not_ been a good day. He was so sure he was going to be fine while driving, but then that damned owl just _had_ to fly over his car and drop a rabbit onto his dashboard.  
  
The owl dropping the rabbit on him was forgivable. Predators catch prey, prey fight back and occasionally escape... he could understand that. That had nothing to do with him. He didn’t blame himself for that.  
  
He did blame himself for whatever small injury he may have caused the poor rabbit afterwards. He hadn’t known much about physics, gravity, mechanics, or whatever it was in order to know that hitting the breaks would force the rabbit to roll off the front and fall down beneath his car and the one behind. Simply hitting the poor thing made him feel guilty beyond all reason, and the blood that had smeared along the window was enough to make him think he had done serious damage. Knowing that the blood was from the scratches the owl had given was small consolation.  
  
He felt the water swirl and ripple around him, indicating that another person had stepped into the same pool as he.  
  
“I sincerely hope you aren’t trying to drown yourself,” Seunggi said.  
  
Daesung, whose ears were above water, heard him. He shook his head before lifting it. He hoped the warmth of the water was enough of an excuse to explain how red his face was.  
  
“So what’s the news?” Daesung croaked out.  
  
“Good news is: the rabbit’s going to be fine. It suffered more physical trauma than mental, they think, so it should be easy to fix.” Daesung nodded in understanding. He knew all too well that mental trauma was more difficult to heal.  
  
“Bad news: it will have to stay at the vet’s overnight,” Seunggi added.  
  
Daesung was confused. “How is that bad news?”  
  
“Well, it didn’t seem very comfortable in there when we left it there, so leaving it alone all night...”. Seunggi looked away shyly, making Daesung even more confused. “Well, I was wondering if.... What would you think of us keeping it? As a part of our family?”  
  
“Keep it?” Daesung thought about it for a bit before answering, “I don’t know that that’s such a good idea. The rabbit is wild, isn’t it? Shouldn’t it be in an environment it’s accustomed to, even though it’s a dangerous place to be?”  
  
“Oh, that’s just it, it _isn’t_ wild,” Seunggi informed him excitedly. “I forgot to tell you: the vet told me that there is a couple that raises animals for food, including rabbits, who live near the place where we found it. He thinks maybe the owl picked it up from there.”  
  
“The rabbit was going to be killed anyway,” he said when he saw Daesung’s doubtful expression. “It was either going to become food for the owl or food for the people who raised it. I just thought... well, maybe the rabbit deserves a new life? Maybe there’s a reason it practically fell into _our_ laps?”  
  
Daesung smiled weakly. “Perhaps.” Then he became solemn. “But hyung, not only am I accident prone, but...”, his chin was wobbling as a precursor to another onslaught of tears. He hated when that happened. “... I can’t keep a pet alive. Even the plants I’ve tried to grow have all died.”  
  
“But I’ll help,” Seunggi pressed. “You won’t be alone. We’ll work together. I can take care of it one week, you can take care of it another week, we can both share responsibility for it on filming days... or if you’d rather, I could take care of it every day that we aren’t filming...,” he rambled.  
  
“Why are you doing this?” Daesung finally choked out. That question had been on his mind since the moment Seunggi had dropped the rabbit into his lap. To him, it seemed like the older man was trying to punish him by reminding him of how inept he was, by reminding him of how much pain and suffering he was responsible for.  
  
“I’m not trying to make you feel bad, Daesung-ah,” Seunggi said softly, as if reading the younger man’s thoughts. He slung an arm over his shoulders and comforted him, saying, “You are more capable and strong than you give yourself credit for.”  
  
“I don’t see how that’s possible,” Daesung muttered, enjoying the skin contact entirely too much. It didn’t help that they were both naked, either.  
  
“Are you _kidding_ me?” Seunggi scoffed, startling Daesung out of his thoughts. “Did you even notice how well you comforted that rabbit?”  
  
“Yeah, well, you helped.”  
  
“Sure, I helped. But when it came down to keeping the rabbit calm in the vet’s office, it was all thanks to you,” Seunggi reminded him.  
  
Daesung thought about that. The rabbit had slept rather peacefully in his arms up until the vet started applying the anti-biotic to its wounds. It then squealed, and even managed to bite Daesung’s arm, but as soon as he had spoken softly to it and even nuzzled its nose, it stopped trying to get away. It even let the vet touch its broken foot with Daesung’s help.  
  
Thinking back on it, Seunggi hadn’t been around for that part. He had been in the lobby taking care of filming schedule changes and some paperwork.  
  
“You see,” Seunggi continued, unaware of Daesung’s thoughts, “I may be good at a lot of things, but when it comes down comforting people or animals in distress, I have no idea how to do it. I can’t tell you how relieved I was that you were with me for this, Daesung-ah. If the rabbit had been stuck with me, it probably would have suffered more mental trauma than physical.”  
  
“I wouldn’t say you do a bad job at comforting people,” Daesung complimented shyly, nudging Seunggi.  
  
\------------------------------------  
  
The next morning, after spending the night in a luxurious honeymoon suite, Daesung and Seunggi went back to the vet to check up on the rabbit. Daesung was pleased to see it was calmly washing its face, as if it was unaware of what had happened during the previous day.  
  
“I called the couple who own the rabbit,” the vet told them. “They would be willing to sell it to you for 30,000 won, if you’re interested.”  
  
“Um...,” Seunggi said, and he turned to Daesung questioningly.  
  
“Um,” Daesung said, uncertain because he really wanted the rabbit, but knew it was probably a bad idea, but he really wanted it, but the rabbit probably wouldn’t be happy, but he _really wanted it_....  
  
Seunggi pushed him over to where the rabbit was. The small, brown fluff-ball stopped washing its ear and froze, nose twitching frantically. When no one did anything, the rabbit ventured to move, and sniffed the air and the proffered hand.  
  
The rabbit raised up in its haunches and head-butted the younger man’s hand, startling him into jumping back.  
  
Seunggi pushed him forward again.  
  
“Um, I-I think... I think we’ll take it,” Daesung finally gave in, shyly stroking the little critter’s forehead with his fingers.  
  
He heard Seunggi’s sigh of relief from behind him.  
  
“Is it a boy or a girl?” Daesung asked while absently nudging its nose.  
  
“Girl,” was the response. “Would you sign here please?” the vet requested of Seunggi, who was busy getting the paperwork, cage, and food ready for the trip home while Daesung kept their new little companion company.  
  
Daesung crouched down to get to eye level with the rabbit. She turned her head to look at him directly with one eye.  
  
“Hey there, cutie,” he cooed, rubbing one of her small, stick-up ears gently. “You ready to come home with us?”  
  
“Daesung-ah, stop sounding like a pervert,” Seunggi commented, crouching next to him. Daesung glared at him.  
  
“I’m _not_ a pervert! I’m her _daddy_. I’m doting on her, like a daddy is supposed to do,” he said while Seunggi made smoochy sounds at her, trying to get her to rub noses with him.  
  
“If you’re her daddy, then what am I?” asked Seunggi, offended.  
  
“You’re her daddy, too. She can be our love-child, with two daddies!” he proclaimed.  
  
Seunggi sniggered. “So I suppose there’s no need for us to ever kiss, now that we’ve already got a child.”  
  
Daesung had to focus really hard in order to keep himself from pouting in disappointment. He _wanted_ to kiss Seunggi, darn it! If he couldn’t kiss Seunggi, then-.  
  
The rabbit turned away from Seunggi and bumped her nose against Daesung’s. Suddenly, Daesung didn’t care about kissing Seunggi anymore. Suddenly, rubbing his nose with their new rabbit was the younger man’s new favorite hobby.  
  
“ _Lucky_...” Seunggi hissed, jealous of his husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Part 3! I will put up a little announcement here on May 1st to say which couple I will focus on next. So I won't be posting anything new until then.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	20. Voting Results!

Dear Readers,  
  
Thank you for your votes! After counting up all of the votes from here and livejournal, this is the tentative order of the stories I will write.  
  
1\. Hosu  
2\. Alhyun  
3\. Onsung  
4\. Daegi (Seungsung)  
5\. Okseob  
6\. G.O.ri  
7\. Joonvin  
  
Again, thank you for voting! Also, keep an eye out for the first chapter of Hosu's story. I'll be posting it sometime today! It will be listed under the DBSK and JYJ fandoms.  
  
~ gigglemayhem

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued...


End file.
